TCOT Senseless Separation
by PD4758PW
Summary: It has been left to our imagination about what Perry and Della were up to between the end of the television series in 1966 and when they reunited in 1985 for the television movie Perry Mason Returns. The story line in PMR alludes to our favorite couple's separation. What could possibly be the reason or explanation for that separation?
1. Chapter 1

The characters in this story were created by Erle Stanley Gardner and I am just borrowing these characters again. The names of any other characters in this story are purely fictional.

 **A/N** : In the Perry Mason television series and subsequent TV movies, these main characters were portrayed by Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, and William Hopper. If you have read any of my other stories, you have probably noticed that I occasionally use personal information about these actors such as their actual birthdates, etc. I write my stories based on the television series and TV movies produced from 1957 to 1966 and 1985 until 1993, so the stories take place during that era.

There have been other great stories in this fandom by other wonderful writers with their versions of what might have happened with Perry and Della in the years leading up to the TV movie _Perry Mason Returns_. My version is just another perspective of what might have been.

As indicated on my profile, I began writing parts of this story over a year ago with the intent to begin posting by the end of last year. Real life issues have taken a toll on my free time this year so I'm way behind getting this posted. My thanks to those readers and other writers who have read my profile and sent personal messages motivating me to finally start posting this tale!

This story is intended to be a sequel to portions of some of my other stories, so there will be references to plot lines in those previous adventures. I sort of left a side story regarding Paul Drake's "marriage" in my " _April in Paris_ " story – that will be tied into this story at some point. It will also contain many flashbacks and use the dates that these events occurred in the flashbacks. So, to fully understand the story, just watch for the dates, times, and places I will list in each segment and chapter. Enjoy!

 **Chapter One**

 **Downtown Los Angeles, CA – Monday, 23 May 1983**

Traffic was fairly congested on the streets of downtown Los Angeles that particular Monday afternoon in May. Sixty-one year-old Della Street maneuvered her new 1983 Mercedes sedan along the busy streets that every year seemed to be more and more clogged with vehicles. Della yearned for the old days of Los Angeles traffic when things seemed to flow smoother and not everyone owned an automobile. Now, the freeways that were built up around the region only brought more traffic to the area with multiple lanes in each direction, and even more gridlock. She still preferred the side streets and tried to avoid the expressways at all cost. With her new job in a building on the outskirts of Los Angeles, she no longer had to work in an office downtown and for that she was grateful. If it wasn't for having to do this important errand for her job, she would avoid downtown Los Angeles altogether.

But her task for this day was to drop off documents for a completed project at the old Brent Building in downtown Los Angeles where she worked for many years. She could have sent the documents by courier, but opted to do this errand on her own. Upon finishing this chore, Della would be through early for the day with her administrative assistant duties at Arthur Gordon Industries. Her boss, Arthur Gordon, had taken another business trip out of the country again, so she was looking forward to some personal time off.

Della almost backed out of this delivery at the last minute, but overcame her anxiety and pushed on. She reasoned that it would almost be a nostalgic adventure for her since she had not seen the Brent building in several years. She was relieved to find a parking spot in the rear of the building so this errand would be easier to quickly finish.

As she made her way along the sidewalk to the front entrance of the building, she noticed plain white paper covering the windows and entry door to the old Clay's Grill. Della paused at the door to read a large sign written in bold lettering in the window of the door.

"CLAY'S GRILL HAS CLOSED. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE OVER THE PAST THIRTY-FIVE YEARS."

In small print beneath that unexpected news, Della read further.

"Coming soon – McDonald's. Watch for our Grand Opening this summer."

Della just shook her head and walked away when she saw the famed Golden Arches logo at the bottom of the sign. For a moment she thought to herself about how the old proprietor, Terrance Clay, would be rolling over in his grave if he knew that his classy bar and grill was being remodeled into a McDonald's fast-food joint.

She entered the lobby of the Brent Building just sighing while recalling the fond memories that she had of Clay's Grill as she walked towards the elevators. Over the years there were numerous case strategy meetings over quick bites to eat there – the food always delicious. After work hours, the cocktails and occasional glasses of champagne were always refreshing. It was quite the place back in the old days!

She quickly took care of her business and after her documents were dropped off in an office on the sixth floor of the building, Della was tempted to take the elevator up to the ninth floor. She was just mildly curious to see what business now occupied the suites of her old office – the office she worked in for so many years before Perry Mason closed his law office in 1977. After glancing at her watch and noticing the time, she decided that it was best that she get out of there. She had seen enough of the old Brent building for this visit and it was time to get through downtown traffic back to the outskirts of Los Angeles for an important appointment of her own.

She had plenty of time to get to her appointment closer to her home that day, and the traffic congestion heading out of downtown was not bothering her at all. Her mind was on the reason for the appointment in the Medical Arts building, and that caused her more anxiety than any traffic could. Della let out a heavy sigh as she had to wait through another long, full light cycle to cross a snarled-up intersection several miles from her destination. She changed the radio station in her car from an FM talk radio channel to an old big band music station hoping to calm her nerves. Music genres had really changed over the years, but she could still find big band music on the AM radio dial.

Just a short time after getting through the gridlocked street, Della drove into a large parking lot at the Medical Arts building and managed to find a parking spot with fifteen minutes to spare for her appointment time. She shut off the car motor and hesitated to get out of the car. Pulling down the driver's side sun visor, she flipped up the mirror cover on the visor and checked her lipstick while fussing with her short, curly brown hair. Ensuring that her lipstick and hairstyle were fine (except for a few stray gray hairs showing), she covered the mirror and put the sun visor back up. A hundred things were running through her mind, but Della took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she gathered her purse from the passenger seat in the car and opened her door to get out. She was starting to feel some closure after her visit to the Brent Building, and hopefully now she would move on with the next stage of closure.

In the lobby, she found the building directory right away and confirmed the suite number of her destination. Della managed to hop on an elevator that was filling with several other people, and pressed the button for the third floor as the doors closed. As the elevator doors opened on the third floor, she found the suite number directional arrows on the wall in front of her and turned right to find suite 302. Before opening the door to enter the suite, Della noted the lettering on the door. " _Doctor Connie McRae – Family Therapy_ ".

After glancing at her watch again, she noted that there would be plenty of time to fill out the necessary paperwork ahead of her actual appointment time. It was always courteous to arrive early for appointments because of required paperwork. She recalled that many of the clients coming into Perry's law office were courteous – but there were a few difficult clients that just rudely barged into the office making demands. At that point, the paperwork was secondary, but she always managed to straighten things out eventually. She sighed again and opened the door to the suite to walk inside.

The waiting room in Doctor Connie McRae's suite was small, with only four unoccupied leather-covered arm chairs surrounding a long coffee table with several magazines neatly stacked in the middle of the table. Della looked around the room and then walked right up to the receptionist sitting at a desk behind the counter. The faint sound of classical music could be heard – filling the room with a calming tone.

Smiling at the receptionist, Della introduced herself. "Good afternoon. I'm Della Street here to see Doctor McRae..."

"Hello Miss Street." The petit young receptionist smiled back at Della and welcomed her to the clinic. The receptionist put a registration sheet on a clipboard and placed it on the counter top in front of Della. "Doctor McRae is nearly finished with another client right now. It won't be a long wait. As a new client, I need you to fill out this registration form." She took out a pen from a holder on the counter top and placed it with the clipboard. "Please have a seat and fill this out. If you have any questions, let me know. You can bring it back to me when you're finished."

"Thank you." After nodding to the receptionist, Della took the clipboard and pen, quickly glancing over the form. Turning away from the counter, Della settled into a nearby chair with the clipboard on her lap, and began writing on the form.

Moments later, a middle-aged, balding, pudgy man came out of the door next to the receptionist's desk and stopped to speak with the receptionist. Della glanced up from her form to see if she would be called into the doctor's office at that time. When the man turned to glare at Della with a scowling look on his face as he spoke to the receptionist in hushed tones, she quickly turned her attention back to her paperwork to give them their privacy. After a short conversation with the receptionist who handed the man some documents, the man turned to leave the office but found it necessary to stare at Della with a sneer on his face as he walked out. Della briefly looked up at him, smiling, as he headed for the door. She quickly turned her attention back to her form on the clipboard.

After writing in the vital information about herself, Della glanced further down the form. There was a section for marital status, employment status, education level, medical insurance, and finally a section for emergency notification information. She looked up towards the ceiling blinking back tears thinking about the reason for her visit. For a long moment, she thought about removing the form from the clipboard, tearing it up, and bailing out of the office. Then her courage returned and she continued filling out the form. Even though she left a few sections blank to further discuss with Doctor McRae, she brought the form and clipboard back to the receptionist.

"I left a few of these sections blank for right now if that's okay. I can explain later..."

The receptionist took the paperwork off of the clipboard and quickly perused the document.

"That's fine, Miss Street. You have the most important information here for now and I can add it to the information you provided over the phone when you made the appointment. Please have a seat. I'm sure Doctor McRae will be with you shortly."

As Della turned away to sit down, Doctor McRae opened the door to her office and called out to her after taking paperwork from the receptionist.

"Miss Street? Will you please come in?"

The first thing Della noticed about Doctor McRae was her welcoming smile which immediately put Della at ease. Doctor McRae appeared to be between thirty to thirty-five years old with a healthy, trim build. She had short, light brown hair and light brown eyes to match. The collar of her front-button light blue blouse was neatly folded over the top of the short jacket of her matching tailored-suit skirt. Della thought back to the office attire she was known to wear back in the years she that worked in Perry Mason's law office. She always tried to look professional and that was exactly the look that Doctor McRae presented.

Still a little uneasy about this visit, Della held her chin up and followed Doctor McRae out of the waiting room into her office. Once inside the office, Doctor McRae stepped behind Della to quietly close the door as Della made her way further into the room.

Doctor McRae was the first to speak.

"I want you to feel comfortable on your first visit. May I get you something to drink? Coffee? Water? Tea? I even have soft drinks if you prefer..."

Della was still looking over the office setting until her eyes became fixed on a couch covered with three small, decorative pillows. The thought that immediately came to her mind was that the couch was there for her to lay on and talk about all of her problems while the good doctor sat in a chair nearby - or at a desk - taking notes of the conversation. This office setting really was not unlike the office in the Brent Building where she used to work with Perry. She momentarily reminisced about the couch in the old office. There were so many nights that she used the couch to rest on having to work late into the night on certain very-involved cases. Her thoughts of the past were interrupted when Doctor McRae asked her again if she wanted something to drink.

"Miss Street? A beverage?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. A cup of coffee would be nice, thank you."

"Fine. Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable? Do you use cream or sugar in your coffee?" Doctor McRae made her way over to the countertop where the coffee server and cups were stored.

Della deliberately strayed away from the couch and sat down in a leather easy chair in front of Doctor McRae's desk.

"Uh, no cream or sugar. Black is just fine, thank you."

Doctor McRae brought Della a cup of coffee and walked around her desk to sit down with her own cup of coffee. She placed her coffee and Della's registration form in front of her on the desk to read.

"From the information that you provided over the phone, I have a general idea of why you're here today, but as I look over your registration form, I can learn a little more about you..." Doctor McRae continued reading the form, sipping her coffee, while Della looked on.

Della nervously spoke up right away.

"I can explain why I left some of those sections blank."

"Okay. Let's take them one at a time... The medical insurance section is blank..."

Della cut in right away.

"Umm, yes... Well, I _have_ medical insurance, but I would prefer not to involve them in this situation. I won't send in an insurance claim for this visit. I plan to pay you directly out of pocket."

"That's fine. We can leave that blank for now..." Doctor McRae read further into the form. "Your marital status is blank. Single? Married? Divorced?"

Della slowly leaned forward on the desk and spoke quietly.

"I didn't know how _legal_ you'd want to be on that one. Technically, I was married in a civil ceremony in Paris France back in 1960. It was a two-part process with an authentic church ceremony to follow, but that part was unlawful for reasons I can discuss later if you really want details. So, I'm still not sure if that's recognized as a _legal_ marriage in this country. And my, uh, husband, or whatever he'd be legally referred to as, and I really never followed up on that any further..."

"I understand. What really matters here, Miss Street, is that you were in some sort of exclusive relationship at one time, but now something has happened and you're here to talk about what occurred. Am I heading in the right direction now?"

Slowly nodding her head and looking away, Della timidly replied.

"I think you've got the right idea..." She turned back to face Doctor McRae. "I'm sorry if I'm not being so straightforward about this, Doctor McRae. I've never sought out assistance in this way before..."

Doctor McRae tried to put her at ease.

"I understand completely. I don't always like to sound so formal either. Try to relax – is that chair comfortable?"

"It's just fine, thanks." Della shifted slightly in her chair and clutched her purse on her lap. For now, she wanted to avoid that couch under all circumstances.

"Well, let's get down to business. We can start by having you just call me _Connie_. I'm not much into titles when conversing with a client. _Doctor McRae_ sounds too formal and I don't think it makes most clients feel at ease."

"Fine. And please call me _Della_. Miss Street, or uh, Missus uh, whatever, is too formal for me in this situation, too. As a matter of fact, in more formal business situations, _Miss Street_ or _Della Street_ is the name I use professionally." She reminisced to herself about all of the times that Perry affectionately called her "Miss Street" in the office – and even in certain social situations. She sighed again before she tried to continue, but her thoughts drifted away as she thought back further in time when titles used before surnames were the norm all of the time in business and social situations. Times sure have changed as far as manners were concerned. She finally looked back to Doctor McRae. "Calling me Della would make me feel more at ease, too."

"That sounds great, _Della_..." Connie set aside the registration form and clasped her hands together in front of her on the desktop. "So why don't you tell me why you're here today? Just give me an overview of the situation..."

Della cleared her throat and sat back in the chair still nervously clutching her purse on her lap.

"For many years I've been in a relationship with a man who used to be my boss. He was a very successful criminal defense attorney here in Los Angeles, but now he's been appointed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals." Della paused. "You might have heard of him. He is the man I married in Paris – Perry Mason."

"I've heard the name a few times..." Connie was sitting back in her chair now with her arms folded across her chest – a pencil at the ready in one hand to record any important information in the notebook on her desk top.

Della was still a little nervous – noting that Doctor McRae was ready to take notes, but she continued speaking anyway.

"I really hope my visit here will be kept very confidential. I can't take the chance of exposing him to any scandal if word of my visit should get out. You see, for reasons too difficult to explain right now, we've kept our relationship very private – with only a few close friends aware of our lifestyle... We have a very _unusual_ relationship."

Connie leaned forward, now placing her hands on the desk top.

"Relationships are all very different so you shouldn't have to call it _unusual_. You can be assured, Della, that anything we talk about here will be kept private."

Feeling a little more at ease, Della continued.

"I first laid eyes on Perry here in the Los Angeles area during the war – uh, that was _World War_ _Two_... While at a dance at a USO Canteen, we were separated during an air raid warning before we could get to know a little more about each other. My goodness, I was _so_ attracted to him..."

Della paused momentarily fondly remembering her slow dances with Perry that night. She looked back to Doctor McRae and then continued.

"With all of the chaos and confusion from the air raid warning like I mentioned before, we were separated, and I never saw him again until several years later. You see, many years after the war, I had applied for a job through a hiring agency not knowing at the time that the job would be as _his_ confidential secretary in his law office. Long story short, I didn't hear back from the hiring agency about my application and I left Los Angeles to return to my hometown near Chicago. That's where Perry found me at the train station and coaxed me back to LA for the job. Well, I returned to LA with him and it wasn't long before we fell in love with each other. The rest is history..." Della's voice faded away and she glanced down at her hands on her lap.

Connie was listening with great interest so when Della paused, she asked for more.

"I'm not sure I fully understand ' _the rest is history_ '..." She waited for Della to continue.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I'll get more to the point..." Della took in a deep breath and continued. "Perry and I grew very close over the years. There were a few ups and downs like any other relationship has, but we always worked things out... I thought we were doing okay in our current long-distance relationship... Then about ten days ago, I, uh, found _him_ with another woman..."

Della immediately felt relief when those words finally came out of her mouth. She found Perry with another woman and now she had someone who would listen to her story and give her advice on how to deal with the immense heartache that she was feeling.

When Della fell silent after finally blurting out her trouble, Doctor Connie McRae sat back in her chair and began to ask Della for more details.

"I see… That must have been very upsetting to you. But in order to understand completely, Della, let's go back to that day and what may have led up to this situation..."

Della looked up to the ceiling to collect her thoughts and began.

"Okay... It was about ten days ago – Friday the thirteenth of May to be more exact. But first let me give you the background on this particular meeting... For me it started out a few days before that Friday back here in LA. It was a Tuesday as I recall." She calmly continued speaking to Doctor McRae to tell her what had occurred days before her troubling meeting with Perry on Friday the thirteenth.

 **Arthur Gordon Industries Building near Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday, 10 May 1983**

When she noticed that Della was no longer on the main phone line at Arthur Gordon Industries, the office receptionist got on the intercom from her office to inform Della that there was another call waiting for her on her private line. Della thanked her and picked up the line.

"This is Della Street..."

The velvety smooth voice talking to her on the phone was very familiar to her.

"And this is Perry Mason calling..."

Della sat back in her chair at her desk and with a big smile on her face, playfully replied with a bit of witty sarcasm while curling the phone cord on her fingers.

"Hello Your Honor. How are things in the Federal Appellate Court in San Francisco?"

"They were fine until I got your message today about this weekend. Why aren't you coming up to Carmel?" The tone of Perry's voice was all business which caused Della a bit of alarm.

Della tried to soothe his harsh tone a bit.

"Do you remember when I mentioned that there was a possibility that Paul and his jazz band might be playing at the Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach? Well, he's playing there on Friday and Saturday night. He's working on getting tickets for me right now because of the special seating situation in the club for this type of show..."

"I don't remember you mentioning that at all. And since I can't meet again in Carmel for at least a couple more weeks, I thought we decided that this would be the best weekend… I've got a very busy work schedule coming up including a week away in Seattle..."

Della wanted to change his mind.

"Why don't you fly back _here_ instead, Perry? I was going to see if Paul can get a couple of extra tickets and maybe Gertie and Bob will join us... Gertie hasn't seen you in at least two years..." She was hoping that she could sway him to go along with her plans for the weekend.

Perry sounded a little frustrated and his tone changed from business-like to a little irritable.

"Della, the purpose of meeting as much as we can in our home in Carmel is to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and relax. We're both so absorbed in our jobs right now, that any time that we can spend a weekend together in Carmel, is for the best."

"I agree, of course, but Paul's been working towards this opportunity for a long time. I know you don't like hanging out in places like this jazz club, but just this once will you make an exception? And it would mean a lot to Paul..." She wished that she was talking to him face-to-face so she could change his mind by batting her eyelashes at him to win him over in her usual charming way.

There was a long moment of silence on the line as Perry carefully thought about his reply.

"I really don't want to deal with a weekend trip to Los Angeles and the long drive down from our other place in Sherman Oaks to Hermosa Beach to see Paul play the sax! Let's just think about this and I'll call you at home tonight... I'm due in a meeting in five minutes so I don't have time to talk about this right now."

"Okay. But just so you know, I won't be home until after seven-thirty tonight. Mister Gordon wants me to be with him for his dinner meeting with some clients from Tokyo..." Della was almost ready to claim victory when he said that he would be thinking it over.

"Fine, I'll call you after seven-thirty." Without even saying "goodbye", Perry disconnected the call.

Della hung up the phone and lightly bit her lower lip. She knew that Perry was a little irked with their long-distance relationship since he was appointed to the Federal Appeals Court and moved to San Francisco. But she was just as disappointed with barely seeing him only two weekends a month and maybe for occasional two-week vacations together on _his_ schedule. She sighed and got back to organizing the work on her desk to prepare for the evening's meeting with the clients from Tokyo. She thought to herself that by the time he would call her back that night, he would probably change his mind and come to Los Angeles.

 **TBC**

I hope you have enjoyed the start to this story. All comments are welcomed. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **San Francisco, CA Monday, 16 May 1983**

In his dimly-lit private office in the Appeals Court building in downtown San Francisco, sixty-five year old Perry Mason hung up his phone after another unsuccessful attempt to talk with Della. He sat back in his desk chair and clasped his fists together under his chin. A knock on his door by his secretary interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in..."

His secretary brought in his amended travel documents for his work-related trip to Seattle.

"I've got you re-booked on the first flight tomorrow morning. You're still staying at the same hotel. Your meetings won't begin until one o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Do you need anything else before I leave for the day?"

"This was all I needed. Thank you. Have a good week!"

Perry accepted the documents and dismissed his secretary. She closed the office door on her way out.

He opened his briefcase, put the travel documents inside, and locked it closed. Picking up his phone again, he punched in the phone number for Della's office again. For the umpteenth time that day, there was no answer. Not willing to give up, he tried calling Della at home. For what seemed like the millionth time since Friday night, the thirteenth of May, she didn't answer the phone this time either. The answering machine didn't even allow him to leave another message because it was full – probably from all the messages he had already left. Once again he hung up the phone and sighed. He knew she was avoiding him – and rightfully so. She found him with another woman and he couldn't even begin to explain his appalling behavior.

Glancing at a note he left by his desk calendar, Perry stood up and picked up his briefcase to leave the office. He picked up the note and read it again.

"Relationship expert Doctor John Wilburn will present his free lecture in the small auditorium at the Bohemian Club on Monday May 16th at 6pm. No reservations necessary."

Perry put the note in his suit coat pocket and left the office. The timing of a lecture like that could not be any better for him.

The Bohemian Club was an exclusive private club for professional men within walking distance of Perry's office. He enjoyed his time hanging out at the club and met many businessmen, artists, musicians, journalists, and other persons in leadership positions throughout the world. He was introduced to the club by an associate justice on the appellate court and applied for a membership without hesitation after his first visit.

Arriving at the club shortly before six o'clock, he stored his briefcase at the coat check desk and made his way to the small auditorium for the scheduled lecture. About thirty other club members were already seated waiting for the presentation to begin. Finding a seat in the rear of the auditorium, he read over the lecture handout that he was given at the door as the presentation began.

Doctor John Wilburn was a member of the club and a very prominent Psychologist in San Francisco. Perry and Doctor Wilburn joined the Bohemian Club around the same time. They became fast friends when they found that they shared the same interests in the arts, music, and other subjects not related to their professions.

Only fifteen minutes into the thirty minute lecture, Doctor Wilburn began speaking on the topic of infidelity. Perry began feeling a little uneasy and abruptly stood up and left the auditorium. Out in the hallway, he paused by the auditorium door when he noticed that his heart was racing and he felt like he was having trouble breathing. He immediately headed for the bar area in the club.

Nearly finished with his first bourbon on-the-rocks in the sparsely occupied bar, he was suddenly aware of another person sitting down next to him at the end of the bar. Doctor Wilburn got the bartender's attention and ordered a scotch and soda. Perry nervously nodded to Doctor Wilburn to acknowledge his presence and took another sip of his drink.

"I noticed that you left the presentation early, Perry. Were you just no longer interested or did I hit a nerve?"

Perry gulped down the rest of his drink and slowly shook his head.

"I don't know what happened, John… Suddenly I didn't feel so good… I think you really hit a nerve!"

The bartender brought the scotch and soda for Doctor Wilburn and Perry motioned for him to bring him another bourbon.

"Do you want to talk about it, Perry?"

Perry looked around the room and lowered his voice.

"Do you _have_ a free moment? I really messed up and could use some advice..."

Doctor Wilburn looked around the room and determined that they could have a private conversation in a casual seating area across the room.

"Step into my office, Perry. You can give me an overview and if we need a more private conversation, we can always go back to my real office down the street."

Perry gathered his drink from the bartender and followed Doctor Wilburn to the nearby lounge chairs.

After sitting down in the high-back casual chairs with their drinks, Perry began his story.

"It all started last Tuesday… I think that was the 10th of May. I got a message to call Della about our plans for a weekend getaway and I returned her call. To me, that call didn't end very well..." Perry proceeded to tell Doctor Wilburn exactly why he was in trouble in his relationship with Della.

 **San Francisco, CA Tuesday, 10 May 1983**

After hanging up the phone, Perry sat back in his desk chair in his office, frustrated with Della's proposal to fly to Los Angeles for the weekend to hear Paul Drake Junior play the saxophone in a jazz band. The conversation he had just finished with Della was still on his mind and he turned in his chair to look out of the large office window. Lately, Della seemed to be more interested in staying back in Los Angeles instead of meeting him for weekends at their home in Carmel. In _his_ mind, it was the best that he could do trying to maintain their current long-distance relationship.

Appointed to the Federal Appeals Court bench by the office of President Carter in 1977, Perry humbly accepted the appointment hoping that when he got settled in to the new job, Della would join him in San Francisco. The original plan was for her to remain in Los Angeles to close up their law office, then move to San Francisco. A lot of things changed in those six years so their weekends in Carmel meant a lot to him.

A light tap on his office door caught his attention as his secretary came in and placed a file on his desktop.

"Your meeting will be in the small conference room. Two of the parties involved are already seated and one more is still signing in with the receptionist."

Still staring out of his office window, Perry softly answered his secretary. "Thank you. I'll be in shortly."

After his secretary left the office, Perry turned back to the file on his desk and quickly paged through it. He had previously marked the important points of the meeting with a highlighter pen so he could get to the heart of the matter and quickly finish the meeting. He closed the file folder and got up to walk to the conference room.

As Perry entered the conference room, his law clerk stood up from his chair at the conference room table and greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Your Honor..."

The three other persons at the table quickly rose to acknowledge his presence. Perry put them at ease right away and motioned for them to be seated. After the formal introductions were made, Perry began speaking.

"Good afternoon. We can drop the formalities for this meeting." Perry then spoke directly to the law clerk as he took a seat at the table. "It's my understanding that they're here to clarify some of the material presented at the original U.S. District Court case?"

The law clerk returned to the business at hand.

"That's correct, Your Honor. This group represents the Petitioner, RKT Partners. After this case came out of the District Court, there have been some changes in the corporate structure of the original parties named in this case. What they want to accomplish here today is to clarify the new structure of this partnership at RKT and not mislead the appeals process before the appeal is formally presented for oral argument next month. It's shown on page two."

They began talking through the material page by page. The meeting continued as the group presented their updated material. Perry was primarily just an observer for the meeting as his law clerk was able to swiftly and efficiently run the meeting.

Nearing the end of the twenty minute meeting with a wrap-up of what they updated, an attractive woman with grayish-blonde hair suddenly entered the room and all eyes in the conference room turned to her. She stopped abruptly and quickly apologized for interrupting as the men scrambled to their feet to acknowledge the presence of a lady in the room.

"Oh! Pardon me! I was told that your meeting was finished... I'm sorry to intrude!" She began to turn to walk out of the room.

Perry's law clerk looked up from the paperwork he was holding while the other men in the room from RKT looked around to each other – confused about this woman's presence in the room.

Perry carefully looked her over and thought that he recognized her from somewhere. Using the interruption as a way to finish the meeting and get back to his office sooner, Perry spoke to her right away.

"Please come in young lady… I think we can direct you to where you need to be..." He nodded to the other men in the room. "I think we're finished here, aren't we gentlemen?" Perry quickly turned his attention back to the woman. "Haven't we met somewhere before?"

The woman stopped right away and turned to face the group.

"You're quite right, Your Honor. I'm Velma Thomas. We met at the Children's Cancer Research Foundation fundraiser two months ago..."

Perry smiled and slowly nodded when he remembered the event.

"Yes, of course. The CCRF... That was quite an elaborate gathering as I recall. Forgive me if I don't recall our introduction back then." His mood turned rather jovial. "I hope my check didn't bounce!"

The group in the room laughed as they put away their paperwork to leave the room. Velma replied as the laughter subsided.

"No, your rather sizable check did not bounce, Your Honor."

"I would hope _not_." Perry smiled again and he turned to leave the room. "Let's find out where you need to be."

As the rest of the group began to disperse, Velma Thomas walked over to Perry before he could leave the room.

"I'm actually here, Your Honor, to make an appointment to see you about an upcoming fundraiser. I must have been directed in here by mistake... I'm glad that you're a big supporter of the CCRF. It's a very worthwhile cause."

Perry stopped walking and faced her to politely reply.

"I've been involved with many children's charities over the years. I'm glad that I can help out in some way."

"Well, the CCRF is looking for a keynote speaker at our next fundraiser in June. If you're interested in the job, you might be quite influential with some of the reluctant contributors who are invited to attend."

"I would have to check with my secretary and have her look at my schedule." Perry looked at his watch and noted the late hour before he continued. "And my secretary is probably gone for the day now. Perhaps you can call the office tomorrow sometime with the details."

Perry didn't know it at the time, but the conniving Velma Thomas was not going to let Perry walk away from her right then when she had worked so hard to meet him face-to-face. She boldly moved closer to him as the other persons at the meeting shuffled out of the room ahead of them.

"Perhaps we can talk about this over dinner some time?" She threw Perry a rather seductive glance.

Perry thought it over for a moment. His eyes looked over the woman in front of him. He figured she was probably in her late fifties. She was nicely dressed in what appeared to be expensive business attire which brought favorable attention to her slender figure. Her pricey-looking jewelry glittered in his eyes and he noticed that she was not wearing a wedding ring. He continued to ponder the invitation to dinner and quickly concluded that it would not be out-of-line for him to socialize with someone involved in charity fundraisers. A lovely dinner companion would be nice for a change since he was growing tired of dining alone most evenings.

"How about dinner tonight?" Right away Perry couldn't believe that he actually asked her to dinner by blurting out the question.

Velma quickly pondered the invitation. "I'm free tonight! Why don't we meet at Cisco's, in say – an hour?"

Perry agreed right away. "That will be fine. I'll see you there." He gestured for her to walk out of the room in front of him.

Velma walked out and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing you there!" She left the office area and headed into the hallway to catch an elevator.

As Velma made her way off of the elevator on the first floor of the Appeals Court building, the three men from RKT Partners spotted her and took her aside.

Bill Palmer, the current President of RKT Partners, looked around the area before he spoke to her in a stern voice.

"Are you crazy, Velma? What in the hell are you doing? Why did you bust into that meeting like that? You could have ruined everything!"

With a bold look on her face, Velma tried to appease Bill Palmer.

"Relax, Bill. I know what I'm doing. We all know how important it is to win this appeal. If the lower court's ruling is affirmed by this appeals court, we are _ruined_! You all got us deeper into this mess with your greed and deception and I intend to get us out! Right now I'm just getting a feel for where at least one judge on the appeals court panel will stand... Trust me! I've been working on this for over two months now. We'll win this appeal and move on to bigger and better prosperity!"

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Later that evening over a casual dinner with a few cocktails and a bottle of wine at Cisco's, Perry learned more about Velma Thomas. She portrayed herself as more of a wealthy philanthropist – managing many of the charities founded by her grandfather Harold Richmond, a now-deceased real estate mogul. Right after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, her grandfather began heavily investing in properties with the intent to rebuild the city from all of the destruction. When Velma described a few of the buildings her grandfather purchased in San Francisco, Perry didn't let on that his luxury apartment in The Wilson Building nearby was actually one of the first properties that her grandfather bought after the earthquake.

Velma did most of the talking over dinner so Perry managed to keep the details of his personal life out of the conversation. When it came to details about _her_ personal life, she mentioned that she'd been divorced four times and did not have any children from any of those marriages. At the moment she was too busy with her new job in fundraising to pursue any serious relationships. All formalities were tossed aside as she called him " _Perry"_ throughout their dinner.

As they left the restaurant, Perry hailed a taxi for them to share. Perry rarely drove his own vehicle in San Francisco since the usual places he would go to were either walking distance or a quick taxicab ride away. He told Velma that he would have the driver drop her off at her place first, even though his place was closer. Growing more curious about this woman, he really just wanted to see where she lived.

Although Velma invited Perry up to her place for a nightcap, Perry declined as the taxicab stopped at her home in the prestigious Nob Hill neighborhood. Before getting out of the cab, Velma leaned over and kissed Perry lightly on his lips.

"Thanks for dinner, Perry. I'll be in touch."

Perry was still a bit surprised by her kiss, but he smiled and replied right away.

"Call me tomorrow about scheduling that fundraiser event. I'll wait until you're safely inside your home before we leave here. Goodnight!"

Velma walked up the steps to her home, opened the door, and waved back to Perry in the taxi that she made it inside okay. As the taxi pulled away from the curb, she closed the door to her home and leaned back against it with a devious grin on her face.

The cunning Velma Thomas just accomplished the next step in her scheme to eventually influence a prominent Appeals Court Judge in her family's upcoming appeal to reverse a lower court's unfavorable ruling against the RKT Partners. She chuckled to herself as she walked further into her home knowing that she was able to lead the great Justice Perry Mason on - feeding him only information about herself as a wealthy charity administrator. She'd have him eating out of her hand by the end of the week. There was no time to waste – the appeals case would be brought before Justice Mason's panel in the next few weeks.

It was after eight-thirty and traffic was fairly light for a Tuesday night, so the ride to Perry's apartment building was quick. As he walked into the building and waited for the elevator, Perry thought about the nice dinner he relished, and the company of a rather engaging woman that he enjoyed the meal with. She was quite a woman he thought to himself. He got into his apartment and settled into his easy chair with a good book. He never remembered to call Della back as he said that he would.

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all of your reviews.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **San Francisco, CA Bohemian Club Bar 16 May 1983**

Doctor Wilburn listened very carefully to Perry's story of his dinner meeting with Velma Thomas. At this point in the story, he interrupted Perry while packing his pipe with tobacco.

"It's pretty harmless to go out to dinner with another woman to discuss a charity fundraiser, Perry." Doctor Wilburn lit the tobacco in his pipe.

"You haven't heard my whole story though, John. That's just the start..." Perry paused thinking that it could take a lot longer to tell Doctor Wilburn the rest of the story. "Look, maybe you don't have time to hear the rest of this tonight. But I'm in a spot here – I have to leave for Seattle tomorrow and won't be back until late Friday. I was supposed to be in Seattle today, but delayed that because my weekend didn't exactly go as I planned… I need your help – I really need to know what to do, John!"

"I've got all night if that's what it takes, Perry. So what happened next?"

Feeling the effects of his second bourbon, Perry sat back in his chair and loosened his tie as the bartender brought Perry and John another round of drinks. Perry then continued with his story.

"A lot more happened starting the next morning. It was Wednesday..."

 **San Francisco, CA Wednesday, 11 May 1983**

The morning after his dinner with Velma Thomas, Perry was casually reading the newspaper at his kitchen counter as he nibbled on his breakfast when his phone rang. He looked at his watch and figured that the only person that would be calling so early at his home would be Della. He was right.

"Hello, Della. I suppose you're wondering why I forgot to call you back last night?" He lowered the newspaper onto the counter top.

"Good morning, Perry. I just figured that you were too engrossed in a television program or a book last night to remember to call, so I thought I would call you before you get to your office this morning..."

"Sorry that I didn't call. By the time I remembered it was really late. It's a good thing you called now because I have a busy day ahead of me. So, what's the verdict? What time will you be in Carmel on Friday? I plan to be there around noon..." Perry sipped from his cup of coffee waiting for Della's answer.

Della paused before she replied. "Umm, Perry... Let me make this proposal. I have arranged for the tickets for Friday night at the jazz club. Paul can meet us for dinner before the show if that's okay with you. And we can meet in Carmel the _following_ weekend instead... How does that sound?"

Perry slowly shook his head and clenched his fist on the table. He wasn't the least bit surprised that she was not going to meet in Carmel for the weekend – just like several other times recently. Lately all of her plans revolved around Paul Drake Junior's life. It was _Paul_ this and _Paul_ that. He wondered when she was going to come around to _Perry's_ life.

"That sounds to me like we _won't_ be meeting in Carmel this weekend. I have no desire to fly to Los Angeles to sit in a crowded night club, Della! I thought I made that clear when we spoke yesterday!"

Della frowned and took a moment before replying. "I wish you would change your mind, Perry. We can rearrange our schedules and meet in Carmel the following weekend. I'll take some extra time off. And there's always the following weekend when we can celebrate your birthday. Or for your birthday we can take extra time off if you still want to go to Hawaii."

Perry was not swayed by her alternative plans at all.

"I won't be available to meet in Carmel the following weekend. If you'll recall, I'll be in Seattle all week on Court business." He had a bad feeling that they definitely would not be meeting in Carmel for the weekend.

"Ohhh. I guess I forgot about that..." Della didn't know what to say now, but she continued after a brief pause. "Well, I suppose we'll have to think about this some more and maybe talk about it later."

Holding back his disappointment, Perry let out a frustrated sigh as he spoke.

"I need to leave for the office now. I suppose _we_ will just have to meet in about two weeks – unless you come up with other plans. Goodbye, Della." He rudely hung up the phone right away.

Della heard the phone line disconnect before she could reply. She slowly shook her head and sighed as she hung up her phone. After a quick glance at her kitchen clock, she put her coffee cup in the sink and gathered her things to head to her office.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Velma Thomas wasted no time calling Perry in his office later that morning. Not only did she get him to commit to attending the fundraiser in June, but she got him to accept an invitation to dinner at her place that night.

Perry's taxi arrived at her home at precisely seven o'clock as planned. He made his way up the steps to her front door with a bottle of fine wine in his hand.

Velma came to the door wearing a tight-fitting black cocktail dress – her high heeled shoes giving her added height to her five-foot, seven-inch frame. Her gold hoop earrings and gold beaded necklace glittered in the entryway lighting.

With a big smile on her face, Velma welcomed him into her home and gladly accepted the wine.

"Thank you, Perry. You're right on time – and you even remembered the wine that you promised!" She lightly kissed him on the cheek and guided him into the living room.

"It was the least that I could do." This time Perry wasn't even shocked by her kiss on his cheek and looked around the living room where they were standing. He inhaled the tantalizing smell of the dinner baking in the oven. "It smells like you've been cooking all day."

"Not at all! I put dinner in the oven about ten minutes ago. I hope you like halibut..."

"I love halibut."

"It was on special at the Monterey Fish Market. I'm actually using you as a taste-tester tonight to try out a new recipe!"

"Ha!" Perry let out a subtle laugh. "If it tastes as good as it smells, I'm sure it will be delightful."

Velma changed the subject and looked at the bottle of wine.

"Oh, a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc! That will be perfect with our halibut! I'll chill it slightly. Would you like a cocktail before dinner?" Like a fashion model on the runway, she sashayed to the kitchen to put the wine in the refrigerator as Perry watched attentively.

When Velma was out of sight in the kitchen, Perry looked over towards her liquor supply laid out on a makeshift table top bar near the dining room and answered her question.

"A cocktail sounds great. Why don't I fix something for us? What's your beverage of choice?"

"A gin martini would be nice. Uh, wet – and stirred!"

"Coming right up!" Perry brought all the ingredients and bar tools together. "This is quite a set up you have here. You probably entertain here a lot."

Velma made her way back into the room and was now standing near him watching him make the martinis.

"Only on special occasions. Large groups are not always easy – the lack of parking in this area is ridiculous. But I suppose that could be said about most areas of San Francisco. Sometimes it's easier to meet at a club or a restaurant where it's easier for guests to find parking."

Perry handed Velma her martini then picked up his own drink. They raised their glasses and clinked them together as Perry proposed a toast.

"To good food and a very attractive cook!" He thought that was a harmless statement.

Velma gave him a wink before she began to bring her beverage to her lips for a sip.

"And may I add to that – to a very handsome martini maker!" After a quick sip of her drink, she continued. "Oooh. This is delicious!"

After two martinis and casual conversation about the San Francisco area, they finally sat down to the halibut meal complete with roasted red rosemary potatoes, asparagus, and the chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc.

Their dinner conversation included talk about the Arts, various shows they had seen recently and other conductors coming to the San Francisco Symphony Hall. Eventually, Velma pushed away from the table and began to clear the dishes from the table.

Perry quickly tossed his cloth napkin aside and stood up to assist.

"Clearing the dishes away and even washing them is something I can take care of."

Velma politely declined his offer to help.

"Nonsense! I'm only going to take these to the kitchen and pile them near the sink. My housekeeper will be here late tomorrow morning and she'll be more than happy to clean the kitchen – especially since she's paid so well to do that!"

Nonetheless, Perry picked up the platter that still had a large remnant of the baked halibut on it.

"Let me at least carry this platter to the kitchen so you can wrap the rest of this for the 'fridge."

She glanced back at him looking over her shoulder while balancing the dinner plates in her hands.

"Very well, Perry. Follow me... But I plan to toss out the rest of the halibut. I've never been able to reheat leftovers properly."

Perry placed the platter on the kitchen counter and answered her with a smile.

"This chunk of halibut would be easy to make into a fine breakfast – just heat the fish in a frying pan, cover it with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce for a very easy breakfast dish!"

"I'm really not very good at making breakfast – especially with leftovers. Maybe I should have you spend the night and show me how it's done in the morning!" Velma gave him a teasing wink and waited for his reaction.

He grinned and quickly looked away from her glance trying to get back to the task of wrapping the fish for storage in the refrigerator.

"I'll write down the recipe for you. What would you like to store this in?"

Feeling a little shot down after her flirtatious suggestion went nowhere with him, she reached into a nearby cupboard for a small plastic container.

"This will do." As she handed him the container she leaned over the counter closer to him. "Be very specific when you write down the recipe – but perhaps I'll just keep it refrigerated a few more days when you can show me your breakfast preparation in person..."

As he placed the fish in the container, he grinned and nodded to her. "Hmmm. Perhaps..."

"Why don't we move back to the living room for after dinner drinks? I'm sorry that I didn't prepare a dessert..." Velma walked out of the kitchen with Perry following after he quickly glanced at his watch.

"It's almost nine o'clock, but I suppose one after dinner drink instead of a dessert won't hurt. I have a busy day tomorrow..."

"Well then let's just have a small one. Why don't you find something on my bar and pour us whatever you like?" She walked through the living room towards her bedroom. "If you don't mind, I'm going to change into something more comfortable while you pour. I had way too much to eat and this dress feels a little tight right now."

Once again Perry watched her sashay away into her bedroom until she was out of sight. Turning his attention back to the bar, he looked over the choices for after dinner drinks. There were assorted liqueurs, sherry, vermouth, and the usual brandy of course. Perry called out to Velma.

"You have quite an assortment here. Which do you prefer?"

As Velma slipped out of her dress and into a silk negligee, she shouted her preference to Perry from her bedroom.

"Let's start with the Chartreuse. We can always work our way up to a brandy later..."

Perry found the right bottle of liqueur and was filling two glasses when Velma entered the room tying the thin silk sash on her flowing robe. Perry caught a whiff of her perfume before she arrived at his side and took one of the glasses of the Chartreuse from the bar.

Velma took a big sip of the fine liqueur.

"I think this is the perfect after dinner drink. Smooth... And tasty!"

Perry lifted his glass while managing to also look over her outfit and he took a big gulp of the liqueur. He boldly commented on her attire.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you were going to change into something more comfortable. You, uh, look _really_ comfortable now!"

She put her glass back down on the bar and reached up to loosen Perry's tie. He didn't resist her advance as she adjusted his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt.

"There! Now you can feel a little more comfortable, too.." She then grasped on to his free hand to walk him away from the bar.

"Why don't we move to the couch and enjoy our beverages?"

Starting to feel a little nervous with her flirtatious moves, Perry sat down on the far end of the couch as Velma seated herself next to him towards the middle of the couch and tucked her long legs beneath her on the cushion. She stretched an arm across the back of the couch, her free hand within reach of Perry's shoulder.

Perry was able to lean away from her and took another big gulp of his drink. He thought that the sooner he could finish his drink, the sooner he could make his exit. He avoided her glances by looking around the room to locate a phone that he could use to eventually call for a taxi.

Velma sensed his uneasiness and started up a conversation that she thought would keep his interest.

"You mentioned earlier that you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Does that mean you'll be hearing arguments on any big cases tomorrow?"

While Perry continued looking around the room, she feigned taking another big swig of her drink, then casually poured most of the booze into a potted plant behind the couch leaving only a tiny amount in the glass.

Velma's question distracted Perry enough for him to begin talking about what he would be busy doing the next day.

"First thing in the morning our panel will hear oral arguments on a minor case involving a patent dispute. But the most interesting appeal will be heard later in the day. It's a criminal case. I really enjoy criminal cases because that was my specialty before I was appointed to the Appeals Court."

Velma asked him for more details on the criminal case as she stood up to go to the bar to refill her drink.

"Criminal cases sound very interesting. Any attorney arguing the merits of a case that could put someone away for a long time must really have their facts straight! How would they even go about doing that?"

Perry began giving generalized examples of what a criminal case could entail in presenting an argument before the appeals panel. After filling her glass, Velma brought the bottle over to the couch and refilled Perry's glass also.

Continuing on the subject of the appeals court process, Perry barely noticed that his drink glass was full again as he rambled on and on about his job. They both sipped their beverages and conversed back and forth until once again their glasses were empty – most of the contents of Velma's glass again saturating the potted plant.

Velma again got up from the couch to walk over to the bar and suggested that they switch to a different beverage.

"How about some sherry? Or a cognac instead?"

Perry rose from the couch and walked over to the bar to assist.

"A cognac would be nice. One for the road as they say. Why don't I pour this one?"

Not wanting Perry to get away so soon, Velma used the opportunity to get closer to Perry and suggest that he make himself even more comfortable and remove his suit coat. She stood facing him and ran her hands up inside his coat from his chest to his shoulders and successfully assisted in taking his coat off.

"There! Now we can both be relaxed and enjoy our beverages." She laid his coat over the back of a nearby chair.

After they returned to the couch with glasses of cognac, Perry loosened his tie even more while Velma continued to ask about the type of cases that Perry usually dealt with on the panel. She was able to sit closer to him – close enough to lightly rub his shoulder while he answered her questions about his job.

"It appears that sometimes you work on cases behind closed doors – like the other day when you were in your conference room and I accidentally interrupted. I hope that wasn't an important criminal case or anything!"

Perry just smiled, shaking his head, taking a big gulp of his cognac.

"No, that wasn't a criminal case – it was more of a civil case. Nothing official was discussed behind closed doors – it was just clarification of some of the changes in the corporate structure of the petitioner's corporation..."

"That sounds boring. How often are the petitioners able to convince an appeals court panel that the lower court ruling was wrong? I mean, do you think the petitioners in that particular case have any chance at all from what you know of the case?"

"All cases have an equal chance. I'll have to wait to hear exactly what they're contesting in that matter. The lower court rulings have been very clear, so if they have anything to argue on the case, it will have to be something very obscure. I like the challenges of cases like that."

Disappointed at what she was hearing so far about the upcoming appeal for RKT Partners, she tried to find a way to soften him up further to dig for more of his insight into the case. Velma began to lightly stroke the side of Perry's neck and cheek with the back of her hand. She followed that up with lightly running her index finger along his jaw line.

To give Velma a clearer picture of how appeals work, Perry steered away from the case she was talking about. He was concentrating so hard on explaining the inner workings of the appeals court that he didn't back away from her touch on his neck and cheek. It felt good to him and eventually she was cozied up closer to him with her hand on his thigh as he rested his arm around her shoulder.

Showing that she was interested in his tutorial of how the appeals court works, she nuzzled her head onto his shoulder. There was an awkward moment of silence and Velma took the opportunity to lightly begin kissing his neck. When Perry drew her closer to him it was obvious that the drinks amorously affected him. Velma's lips moved on from beneath Perry's ear to his cheek and she was not one bit shocked when he pulled her even closer, covering her mouth with his lips in a hungry kiss.

Velma had him right where she wanted him and after some heavy petting on the couch, she backed away and slowly stood up. Perry looked up to her with a hazy yearning desire as she moved their empty glasses to the side on the coffee table in front of them. She then reached a hand out for him and he stood up with her. She slid her hands up his chest to around his neck pulling him down into a long, deep kiss. When they breathlessly parted from the kiss, she took him by the hand and led him to her bedroom.

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. As always, all comments are appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **San Francisco, CA 10pm, The Bohemian Club, Monday 16 May 1983**

Perry hung his head down after describing to his friend the details of his night with Velma Thomas. Doctor Wilburn couldn't believe what he was hearing from Perry. For as long as he had known Perry, he had never seen Perry so distraught – and for a good reason. He began to try and give Perry some hope that things can still be worked out with Della.

"That's so out of character for you, Perry. I don't exactly know what to say right now except that I can understand what you're going through right now…"

Still staring at the ice in the bottom of his drink glass, Perry disagreed.

"I don't think you know _at all_ what I'm going through, John!"

After collecting his thoughts, Doctor Wilburn immediately hit back at Perry.

"But I _do_ know, Perry!" He paused to collect his thoughts on the subject. "You see, about twenty-five years ago, I made a big mistake, too. I was engaged to Betty and somehow got mixed up in a one-night-stand that I immediately regretted..."

Perry quickly turned and looked up at Doctor Wilburn from his empty bourbon glass.

"You stepped out on Betty? Your wife?"

"Like I said, she was my fiancé at the time. It was about a month before we were going to be married. I don't know if I was just nervous about the upcoming wedding or what. I still don't know what I was thinking. When I saw Betty a few days later, I think she sensed that something was wrong when I arrived at her place to take her out to dinner. I felt so guilty and overly remorseful, I came right out and confessed."

"How did she react to that bit of news?"

"Oh was she ever sore with me! We were in my car parked outside of her house when we talked. First she scowled at me in disbelief and then burst into tears before she quickly got out of my car. Of course I ran after her begging her to stop running away. When she got to her front door, she turned around towards me and told me, in a rather blunt way, to go away – and never come back! She took her gloves off of her hands, pulled off her engagement ring from her finger, and threw it on the doorstep before she walked inside her home and slammed the door shut on me. I knew I was in big trouble from the start."

"But obviously she eventually came back around to you because she married you..."

"Yes she did – but it was not easy for her. She didn't take my calls for over a week! I even sent her two telegrams a day begging her to at least call me. Then by the end of the next week, she finally called me and set up a meeting with me to sit down with her and the pastor from her church. We began a series of counseling sessions with the pastor and worked out my issues with that one-night-stand. It was a big wake-up call for me – I even enrolled in grad school and took up my calling for psychology work instead of business administration!"

"I'm glad it worked out for you and Betty. She's a very understanding woman! But I'm afraid Della is not going to be so easy on me. I've been trying to talk to Della ever since she ran out on me. Heck, I even thought about taking a trip to LA just to see her in person but I knew that would be a wasted trip when I don't even know where she is…"

"Della's a reasonable woman, Perry. I think she'll come around soon."

"I'm afraid not, John. I haven't finished telling you the whole story yet..."

"You mean there's _more_?"

"Yes. It gets a lot worse, John… _A_ _lot_ worse!"

Doctor Wilburn waved for the bartender's attention.

"Would you mind bringing us two cups of coffee please? And make it strong!"

After ordering the coffee, Doctor Wilburn turned his attention back to Perry.

"Well, how bad is going to get?"

"It's going to get really bad. And it all began on Thursday, the day after I slept with Velma..." 

**San Francisco, CA 1am on Thursday, 12 May 1983**

Perry opened his eyes and adjusted to the dimly lit bedroom in Velma Thomas's Nob Hill home. He blinked his eyes a few times and slowly tried to move away from the woman sleeping soundly beside him in the king-sized bed. His head was pounding from the effects of too much alcohol after dinner the night before. He struggled to recall exactly what happened after dinner and only remembered consuming several after dinner drinks until late in the night.

As his vision became accustomed to the faint light in the room, he successfully got out of the bed without disturbing Velma. After gathering his clothes and shoes from a nearby chair, he walked out into the living room where in the soft light from a small lamp, he found his suit coat on a chair. He sat down on the chair to put on his clothes and shoes. Perry used a phone in the living room and quietly called for a taxi to take him home. He silently walked out of the home and onto the front steps to inhale the cool early morning air.

While waiting for the taxi, his thoughts drifted back to the energetic Velma Thomas. He had no idea what he found so intriguing about her. She came on to him so strong and he found it too hard to resist her charms. With a sinful smirk on his face, he shook his head as he eagerly recalled her uninhibited sexual advances on him in bed. She was quite a woman – she made him feel so invigorated – a feeling he could not remember having in quite a while. He had never had a woman control him like she did. Deep down inside he was ashamed of himself for letting her take him into a situation that he regretted.

When the taxi arrived to take him home, he felt a slight twinge of guilt for leaving in the middle of the night like that, but he decided that he would call Velma later in the day to explain his actions. If he could get some sleep for the rest of the night, he would have plenty of time to think of some sort of apology when he calls her with a clearer head.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA. 1 pm Thursday, 12 May 1983**

Perry walked in the back door of his office from the court room after hearing oral arguments all morning and through the lunch hour on a criminal case. He hung up his judge's robe on a hanger and sat down at his desk to page through a few phone messages and other paperwork from his secretary. It was hard for him to concentrate on the civil case that he heard arguments on first thing in the morning because he knew that it was ill-mannered of him to leave Velma's in the middle of the night. He needed to figure out how he would handle seeing her again – mostly to explain his shame for spending the night with a woman he barely knew anything about.

On a short break after the first case of the day, he discovered that he did not even have Velma's telephone number to try and call her. He quickly looked through the phone messages on his desk wondering if by any chance Velma had called him! There was a knock on his door and his secretary came into the office carrying another file folder.

"These documents came in by courier late this morning. You'll want to look them over so we can reply by tomorrow."

Perry did not find any message from Velma in his stack of phone messages and looked up at his secretary to take the file from her.

"Thank you. I'll look at this right away. Are these all of my phone messages?"

His secretary was standing next to his desk and looked at the messages in his hand.

"Those were the only ones that I'm aware of." She heard her phone ringing at her desk and turned to walk away from him. "That's my phone now – let me answer that! I'll be right back."

Perry began reading through the file in his hand until his secretary returned.

"There's a call for you. A Miss Velma Thomas?"

He was leaning back in his chair, but Perry immediately sat straight up to reply.

"You can put it through please. I'll look at this file and get back to you on it right away."

The secretary closed the door behind her as she went to her desk to transfer the call.

Suddenly Perry felt awkward but was anxious to take the call. As his phone line lit up, he let it ring twice before he answered – mostly to clear out the lump in his throat that he was feeling.

"Velma! Hello!"

The voice on the other end of the line sounded a little hesitant.

"Hi Perry. I don't blame you at all for not staying all night. I'm sorry if I got a little carried away last night..."

Perry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He expected her to remark on his rude behavior, but instead _she_ was apologizing to _him_!

"I think we both got a little carried away last night, Velma. I'm sorry that I left in the middle of the night. I had a long day ahead of me." He began thinking that his apology was sounding a little lame so he tried to divert from his paltry excuse for leaving into a better explanation for his behavior. "I meant to call you first thing this morning, but then I discovered that I don't even have your home phone number!"

"Oh! I sort of just assumed that you wouldn't want to speak with me after _my_ behavior last night! I should make it clear to you that I'm not normally like that!"

"And neither am I, Velma. I even have a few regrets about what happened last night. Anyway, I should take this opportunity to thank you for a nice dinner. You're a good cook!"

"Well thank you Perry. I love entertaining guests for dinner. Maybe we'll have to spend another evening together again soon to discuss those regrets that you are feeling."

"I'd like that. And I wish we could meet for dinner tonight, but for the rest of the afternoon I'll be meeting with my colleagues on the appeals panel to sort through some of the oral arguments we just heard. After that, I'm attending a membership meeting at my men's club."

"Well maybe another night soon? Perhaps it would be safer for both of us to just go out for dinner somewhere else!" She giggled nervously.

Thinking about other things he had upcoming on his calendar, suddenly Perry had an idea.

"Why don't I make a suggestion? What are you doing this weekend?"

Velma only hesitated for a moment to reply.

"I don't have any big plans. What are you suggesting?"

"I'm thinking that we should put last night out of our minds for right now. Slow this down a little bit and take some time to get to know each other a little better..."

"I couldn't agree more! Last night was so unlike me!"

"It was way out of character for me, too." Perry's mind was going full speed ahead now and he couldn't believe what he was about to ask her. "Can you take off on a long weekend, say, starting tomorrow morning?"

"I can make that work..."

"Great. Let me jot down your phone number right now and I'll call you later tonight with the details."

After disconnecting the call, Perry smiled sitting back in his chair and thought over his plans for the weekend with Velma. He somehow convinced himself that his intent was to have an innocent, low-key weekend away from the city with a very engaging woman.

After lightly placing her phone receiver back on the hook, Velma curled up on her couch and smiled while she thought to herself that she had Perry Mason right where she wanted him now.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Monday, 23 May 1983**

Della nervously looked at a clock in Doctor McRae's office thinking that her first appointment with the doctor was about to run over the time limit. Doctor McRae noticed her glance at the clock and put her at ease.

"If you're worried that we're running out of time, don't! I don't have any other appointments scheduled for the rest of the day. And I usually expect to run a little late with first appointments for new clients..."

Della was relieved.

"I didn't expect it to take so long to give you the background information on my story. Sometimes I tend to babble on and on just so it's clear to others what I'm talking about!"

"Well I think it's pretty clear to me what happened on Tuesday the tenth. Would you care for some more coffee?" Doctor McRae got up to move towards the coffee pot.

Della handed over her coffee mug.

"I could use another cup if you still have some, please."

Doctor McRae returned with their coffee and sat back down at her desk.

"So why don't you tell me what happened after that Tuesday phone call?"

"Hmmm. Let me think back. I spoke with Perry briefly on the morning of the eleventh – that was Wednesday. We still hadn't agreed on how we'd spend our weekend. Oh – but on Thursday things began to change a bit as far as my weekend plans went. It started with a call from Junior..."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA 1pm Thursday, 12 May 1983**

Over the intercom in her office, Della was told by her receptionist that Paul Drake Junior was calling for her on the main line. She cheerfully took the call right away.

"Good morning, Paul! How are you today?"

Paul was his usual jovial self.

"I'm fine. But it's no longer morning, Della. You must be really busy today to not know that it's way after noon already!"

After a quick glance at the clock on her office wall, Della smiled before answering.

"Well it's just _barely_ after noon, Paul... So what's on your mind?" She leaned back in her desk chair.

"I'm wondering if you're free for a dinner meet tonight. I have good news and bad news about the tickets for my show tomorrow night."

Della frowned and leaned forward at her desk. "Give me the bad news first."

"I can't meet you and Perry for dinner before the show..."

"Oh, that's too bad. So what's the good news?"

"I'll treat you to dinner tonight instead and hand over the tickets. It will be easier than leaving them for you at the box office at the club."

"Okay. So where are you taking me to dinner? And don't make it Red's Reef this time. I get indigestion eating there!"

"Relax! I don't hang out at Red's Reef anymore. The girl I was dating from there dumped me for the bartender."

"Oh my! Well where is your newest girlfriend working?"

Paul shook his head grinning. Della was always so interested in his latest girlfriends.

"I don't only date restaurant waitresses or hostesses. Let's just go to Jake's. I'll buy you a nice filet mignon steak! I got paid for a side job today so my pocket is full of spending money!"

Della was pleased – mostly because Jake's was close to home for her.

"It's not necessary for you to buy, Paul. Shall I meet you there and what time?"

"I'll pick you up at your home at six o'clock sharp. And hopefully I'll remember to bring the tickets!"

"That will be fine, Paul." Della's intercom buzzed. "I'll see you then. It looks like I have another call coming in – gotta go! Bye!"

They both hung up and Della got back to work.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Jake's Steak House 6:30pm Thursday, 12 May 1983**

Della and Paul were seated in a booth at Jake's Steak House near some windows overlooking a garden area. The seating hostess handed both of them a menu and announced that their server would be with them shortly. Della looked around the dining room at the décor as she secured her purse on the seat beside her.

"They must have remodeled since I was in here last. That wallpaper looks new – and the bar area looks larger."

Paul quickly looked around the room and shrugged his shoulders.

"Looks the same to me." He opened his menu. "Wow! The only thing different that I see is their prices! The prime rib is a lot more expensive now! Probably had to raise their prices to pay for remodeling the joint!"

Della opened her menu to look at the prices. She quickly closed her menu and reached across the table to place her hand over Paul's menu and chuckled.

Paul lowered his menu to the table.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking back in time… Perry and I decided to try out a new French restaurant one night..." She paused to recall the name of the place.

"It was _Ferrold's_ Cafe! Well, when I opened the menu and saw the prices, I told Perry that the restaurant was going to need a lawyer. He was just casually reading the menu and asked why Ferrold's would need a lawyer, so I told him that the prices were grand larceny! He kindly reminded me not to read the prices on the menu. Then _he_ saw the price of just a cup of coffee – _one dollar_! Perry nearly flipped seeing that! Well we didn't even get to try out the place that night – as usual our dinner outing was interrupted by the beginning of a new case!"

She sighed before continuing as Paul politely listened.

"Eventually we did go back to Ferrold's after that murder case." She chuckled again. "We went back because we both wanted to find out what they could possibly put in a cup of coffee to make it worth a dollar!"

Paul smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Well that was probably way back in the _fifties_! Paying a buck for a cup of coffee nowadays is a bargain!"

Della brought the conversation back to the menu.

"Yes it _was_ back in the fifties and you shouldn't have to worry about buying dinner tonight, dear. I think I can manage to pay the tab. Besides – you need to save your money for rent and other things."

Paul continued looking over the menu. "No, Della. Tonight is my treat! I invited you here and I intend to pay." He gave Della a wink and pointed to another page on the menu. "But maybe you should look in this section of the menu for the senior citizen specials!"

She chuckled and raised a brow. "You just watch it, Junior! If you keep making fun of my age, I'll order a dessert - and not on special, either!"

Their server arrived to take their drink orders and informed them of the daily specials. Paul was excited that prime rib was one of the specials that night.

After the server left to get their drinks, Della informed Paul that she hadn't entirely convinced Perry to come to Los Angeles for the weekend yet.

"I think that Perry is having a bad week. He's still not too keen on flying to LA for the weekend. I'll call him tonight when he's had an opportunity to relax a little after his meeting at his club. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing your band. And I hope you play some nostalgic jazz songs. I love singing along to my old favorites!"

Paul thought over the music that his band had in mind for the shows.

"There might be a couple of Duke Ellington songs – and maybe a few from Jimmy Van Heusen. But we tend to bring it into the modern world with a more upbeat tone..."

"Just don't ruin those songs by making them too much like the _new wave_ craze. That stuff is too hard to listen to..."

"Just give me your requests right now and I'll try to fit them in to our first set… And before I forget, I better give you the tickets!"

Paul reached into his shirt pocket and took out the envelope with the tickets. When he handed them to Della, their dinner drinks arrived at the table and Della put the tickets in her purse right away.

They enjoyed their drinks and dinner and ninety minutes later they were ready to leave after Paul picked up the tab. Paul helped Della out of the booth and she gathered her purse off of the seat.

"I'm interested to see the tickets. I hope we're all sitting near the stage – unless it will be too loud there."

They left the restaurant and by the time they got to Paul's car, Della had opened the ticket envelope to look at the tickets. She had a confused look on her face.

"Paul, what's this abbreviation for our seats? 'SRO'?"

Paul opened the car door for Della and took the tickets from her hand to look at them. His brow furrowed as he examined the tickets.

"This can't be right! These are labeled _Standing Room Only_!"

Della got seated in the car and waited to hear more while Paul walked around to the driver's side door to get in the car. When he got seated behind the wheel, he handed the tickets back to Della.

"Let me make a phone call when we get to your place. I'll take care of this right away!"

At Della's place, Paul made the call but then hung up the phone with a disappointed look on his face.

"Apparently those are the best I can do for tickets! The shows are oversold for both nights. My friend recommends that you get there early so you can grab spots along the railing. I'm really sorry about this, Della!"

Della paused before replying.

"If we have standing room only tickets, I know that Perry won't like that at all." She lightly bit her lower lip. "I better call him tonight and find out what he wants to do..."

"I'm so sorry Della. I'll completely understand if you don't come to the shows – I know how Perry can be! But if our shows are as successful as I think they will be, we'll get opportunities to play better venues – and I'll be sure to get you really good seats for future shows!"

After a goodnight kiss on Della's cheek, Paul left and Della picked up the phone to call Perry. There was no answer on his phone, so she left a message.

"Hi Perry! Say, there's been a slight mix-up with our show tickets for tomorrow night. Please give me a call so we can talk about this. Goodbye!"

Della hung up the phone worried that Perry's reaction was not going to be very pleasant. By Friday morning, the thirteenth of May, she still had not heard back from Perry. Around eight o'clock in the morning after a light breakfast, she tried to call Perry again and still did not get an answer. She thought to herself that he had probably already left his apartment in San Francisco for the drive to Carmel since that was the last thing he told her that he was going to do. Sighing, she got back on the phone right away and called for airline reservations for a flight to Monterey – the closest airport for Carmel. It was apparent that she would be joining him in Carmel after all.

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate your interest! Are there any guesses about which television episode Della was describing when she chuckled about the menu prices at Ferrold's?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **San Francisco, CA 8am Friday, 13 May 1983**

Perry shut off the water in his shower and thought that he could hear his phone ringing. After he got dressed and walked over to his answering machine in the kitchen, he checked for any new messages. Seeing none, he walked over to his coffee maker to pour another cup of coffee. He thought about the answering machine message that Della left him the night before and wondered what she meant about the show ticket mix up. He thought that he had made it clear to Della that he was not going to fly to Los Angeles for the weekend. It was apparent to him that she was choosing to see Paul and his band for the weekend instead of meeting in Carmel.

While drinking his coffee, Perry began to have second thoughts about spending a weekend with Velma. At first he thought that not only would it be a good opportunity to get to know more about Velma, but to also plan for the upcoming fundraiser for the Children's Cancer Research Foundation. He was going to find out more about where the money raised would go and what kind of audience would be attending the event. Perry finally decided that working on the fundraiser would be innocent enough for a weekend away in Carmel.

By eight-thirty, Perry gathered his overnight bag and car keys to drive to Velma's. She was expecting him at nine o'clock and he did not want to be late. He planned to fill up his gas tank on the way over and still have plenty of time to drive to her place. They would then be a little over two hours away from their weekend getaway. He wondered if Velma liked fishing. After all, there was only so much time that could be spent discussing a fundraiser.

 **Carmel, CA 11:30am Friday, 13 May 1983**

As they entered the front door of Perry and Della's oceanfront home in Carmel, Perry immediately dropped his overnight bag to the floor just inside the door and took a hold of Velma's bag.

"Let me take this for you. Follow me. The guest room is right this way to the left..."

Velma followed him down a hallway and commented on what she was seeing in the home so far.

"This is a very nice place, Perry. And so close to San Fransisco for weekend getaways! I can't wait to see the ocean view you've been describing on the drive down here!"

As Perry showed Velma the guest room and placed her bag inside, he was hoping that she would not be expecting anything more than a "hands-off" sort of weekend. During their drive down from San Francisco, they were both in agreement that this would just be a friendly, get-to-know-each-other getaway.

"This should be comfortable enough for you." He walked across the room to a window. "It's a little stuffy in here right now, but if I open this window, the ocean breeze will take care of that. There's another window in your bathroom if you desire more of a breeze. I asked my housekeeper to have the place ready for the weekend so this place should be in good shape."

Velma barely looked around the room and all the while Perry was getting the room prepared for her, she was thinking to herself that there was no way that she was going to be staying in a _guest_ room for the weekend. She was just keeping him on the hook by convincing him that she was in agreement that their relationship should cool down a bit. So far her plan was working. After all, he asked her to go away for the weekend, didn't he?

"This room is fine, Perry. I'm anxious to see the rest of the place. It's magnificent so far."

"I'm glad that you like it. Come right this way for the tour." Perry gestured for her to move out into the hallway.

"My master bedroom is down this hall to the right." He walked her to the master bedroom door and stood in the doorway, his large frame blocking her entry. He did not want her snooping around in there – especially since the room had some of Della's belongings scattered about.

But Velma was able to squirm her way around Perry at the doorway and walked into the room anyway.

"Wow! What a place! And such a beautiful view!" As Velma continued to walk further into the room her eyes became fixed on the large jacuzzi hot tub. "You even have a hot tub in here! That's quite a cozy set up!" She noted that there were two entry doors to the master bedroom, one from the hallway and one from what looked to be the nearby living room area.

Perry suddenly felt a little nervous about her presence in the room. He was planning a very casual weekend away with Velma, but now he was feeling a little more uneasy about the idea. He shrugged it off and decided to quickly steer Velma out of the room by suggesting that they continue the tour. This time _h_ _e_ was going to control everything about the weekend.

"It's relaxing when I need it to be. Let's move on – there's more to see." He swiftly coaxed her out of the master bedroom and back into the hallway.

When she left the room, Perry pointed further down the hallway. "There's another guest bathroom down the hall on your right and further down there's a small office area. There should be plenty of room in there to work on a plan for the fundraiser. But let's head over to the living room and kitchen area. I can grab that bottle of champagne that we were discussing on the way here."

"I like that idea – a champagne tour!" Velma looked down the hallway towards the office area, but followed Perry back to the entryway and living room area.

"Great – just come this way. Here's the cozy living room – with a gas fireplace. It can get a little chilly in here depending on the weather of course." Perry continued walking into the large open kitchen area. "If we choose to eat in tonight, I think I can whip something up in this professional chef-inspired kitchen." He moved on to the wine refrigerator under the center island kitchen counter top and removed a bottle of champagne.

Velma followed him into the kitchen. "You're the host this weekend. It might be fun to experience _your_ culinary talents." She looked around at all of the costly first-rate appliances in the room. The _pop_ sound of the champagne cork brought her attention back to Perry.

As Perry wrapped the bottle in a towel to soak up the precious liquid bubbling out of the top, he asked Velma to grab two glasses.

"Right behind you on that rack of glasses, if you would be so kind as to bring two glasses, we can move out to the upper deck and take in the view that I promised you." With Velma following him, he walked towards the deck, unlatched the sliding glass door, and gestured for Velma to walk out ahead of him.

Stepping out onto the deck, Velma deeply inhaled the fresh ocean air as Perry took the glasses from her hands. He filled their champagne glasses and raised his glass towards hers. "To the start of a relaxing weekend in Carmel!"

Velma smiled at him over the top of her glass as she sipped the sparkling beverage. They both looked out over the ocean and took in the scenery. After a moment, Perry moved the cushioned deck chairs towards the deck railing and invited her to sit down.

"To take in a view like this, we should make ourselves more comfortable."

It was around twelve-thirty when the last drops of champagne were poured out of the bottle. Their glasses were nearly empty when Velma suggested that they switch to a different beverage. It was her intent to distract Perry long enough so that she could put her latest plan of seduction into action now that she knew the layout of the home.

"Perhaps we could start on a different beverage now that the champagne is gone, Perry. What can you fix for a delightful early afternoon drink?"

Perry thought it over. "I can think of something. But perhaps we should also have a light snack with our lunchtime beverages."

"That sounds good. I'm starving! If you don't need my help putting together drinks and a snack, I think that I'll go freshen up a bit."

Perry stood up and assisted Velma out of her deck chair. "Take your time getting settled in and freshened up. I've got just the right idea for a light meal and refreshments."

While Velma headed towards the guest room, Perry went to the kitchen to begin preparing a small appetizer. Over fifteen minutes later, Perry was finished putting together a smoked salmon cheese spread to serve with crackers. He moved on to the bar and began mixing two Bloody Mary cocktails. After topping off the cocktails with celery, olives, and pickle spears, he ground more black pepper over the concoctions. Now he was ready to return to the deck and serve, but began to wonder what was taking Velma so long to _freshen up_. That's when he heard the sound of the jacuzzi hot tub gurgling away in the master bedroom.

Perry put the refreshments aside and walked into the master bedroom where he found Velma splashing around naked in the hot tub.

She looked up towards the doorway and smiled up at him right away. "Come on in! The water's fine – and what a view!" She turned away and looked out of the huge bedroom window overlooking the ocean.

Perry was a bit apprehensive at first, but then walked all the way into the room. He was going to have to figure out a way to get her out of that hot tub soon. Thinking that if he just appeased her desire to hang out in the hot tub for the time it would take to drink a Bloody Mary, he decided that just dipping his feet into the hot tub would be enough.

"First let me find a couple of towels, then I'll bring the refreshments in here. I've got to warn you though, I'm more comfortable wearing swimming trunks in a hot tub. For right now I'll just get my feet wet."

She winked an eye at him. "Whatever makes you feel comfortable, Perry..."

While Velma remained fully immersed in the hot tub, Perry was sitting on the edge of the tub. After about fifteen minutes of sipping their drinks and snacking on the appetizers, Perry thought that he heard a noise coming from the living room area.

 **Monterey, CA Airport 12:00pm Friday, 13 May 1983**

Della exited off of the plane at the Monterey Regional airport shortly after noon. It was always easy to hop on a flight to Monterey from the nearby Burbank airport with a choice of two morning flights and three in the afternoon or evening. Normally, Perry would meet her at the airport and they would ride back to their home together. But today would be a little different since she was not able to get a hold of Perry at his apartment or even his office before her flight left Burbank. That wouldn't be a big problem though, because she could pick up a rental car at the airport and drive the short distance to Carmel on her own.

Feeling hungry after the flight, she decided that she would stop at the local market near their home to pick up some things for lunch. By twelve-thirty she was maneuvering her grocery cart through the well-stocked aisles at a nearby Safeway Foods market. She picked out some cold cuts from the deli and added eggs, bread, and milk before she hit the checkout lane. Knowing that if Perry was not expecting her to arrive by lunchtime, he would probably just go fishing right away so he would not even think of picking up a few groceries.

Driving up the circular driveway to the Carmel home with the bag of groceries in her car, Della saw Perry's car parked in the driveway.

" _He's probably not going fishing today after all,_ " Della mused to herself as she got out of the car.

Grabbing the groceries and her small overnight bag, she walked to the front door from her car and found the front door locked. After placing her overnight bag on the doorstep to fish the door key out of her purse, she unlocked the door and brought her bags into the entryway. Della placed her overnight bag on the floor and turned back to the door to remove her key and shut the door. She smiled as she heard the hum of the jacuzzi hot tub motor coming from the master bedroom area. Della saw Perry's bag on the floor near the front door and assumed that he must have been in quite a hurry to get into the tub if he had not even unpacked his bag yet.

" _He must be trying to sooth_ _e_ _a few aches and pains already,_ " Della thought to herself as she made her way towards the master bedroom with her overnight bag and the groceries. She was met just outside of the bedroom door by Perry who was drying off his legs with a towel as he walked towards the living room.

"Della! You're uh, _here_!" Perry began to panic.

"Of course I am. Didn't you get my message?" Della noticed that he seemed anxious about something.

Perry was completely flustered but immediately tried to steer Della away from the bedroom. Noticing the grocery bag in her one hand and an overnight bag in the other, he blocked off the entry door to the bedroom, dropped his towel, and put his hand on her shoulder to turn her back towards the kitchen.

"Let's get those groceries into the kitchen. I'll take your overnight bag." Perry's mind was moving in several directions – mostly wondering how he could get Della out of the house right away. By taking her overnight bag, she would have no reason to go into the master bedroom.

Della was puzzled by his jumpy demeanor and confused by the panicked look on his face, but she began walking towards the kitchen with the bag of groceries. She stopped dead in her tracks though, when she heard a woman's voice calling out from the bedroom.

"Perry, darling? Is there something wrong out there? Who's here? Are you coming back in here?"

With a bewildered look on her face and an arched brow aimed at Perry, Della glanced back to their bedroom where the sound of the woman's voice was coming from.

Velma began climbing out of the hot tub as Della pushed past Perry and made it to the bedroom door in time to see a naked woman on the edge of the hot tub trying to cover herself with a towel. For a brief moment, the two women made eye contact with each other until Della quickly turned away in disgust.

Della turned back to Perry and tried to say something but due to the shock of seeing a sight that sickening, the words would not come out of her mouth. She immediately threw the grocery bag down at Perry's feet as he tried to grab onto her shoulders. She grabbed her overnight bag from his hands and rushed by him while tears of hurt and anger formed in her eyes.

"Della! Wait! This isn't what you're thinking! I can explain!" Perry stepped over the spilled groceries and tried to run after Della but she was already at the front door fumbling with the door handle to make a fast exit.

Perry wasn't about to give up and chased after her in his bare feet. He struggled to move out of the door along the concrete sidewalk towards the gravel driveway still calling out for Della to stop, but she was already in her car. Della started her car, put it in gear, then roared out of the driveway in a cloud of dust. Perry gingerly walked back into the house brushing small gravel pebbles off of the bottom of his feet. He knew right away that he was in big trouble.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Doctor McRae's Office, Monday, 23 May 1983**

"So now you know the whole story of how I found him with another woman. And what makes it extra hurtful, _he was with her in our vacation home_!"

Doctor McRae leaned back in her chair. "How are you feeling now, Della? Now that you've shared your story?"

With her wrinkled handkerchief, Della dabbed at tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I feel a little relief. It's been so hard keeping this all inside. I didn't know where or who to turn to. Perry is, uh, Perry _was_ my life!"

"Why did you wait so long to come here, Della...? Why did you wait so long to seek out someone to turn to?"

"I'm not really sure. I've tried to stay busy just to keep my mind off of it, but it's constantly in my thoughts. I took off an extra day at work after that weekend and I _never_ miss a day at work." She paused. "I'll just say that I have been very busy."

"Have you had any contact with Perry since, uh, _the incident_?"

"None at all! He filled the answering machine with several messages that first weekend. I just couldn't find the nerve to call him back. When I left the vacation house in Carmel that day, I drove around aimlessly for hours before I decided to take the long drive back to Los Angeles in the rental car. It gave me time to do a lot of thinking. As it stands right now, I don't want any contact with him – at all! I've been screening all of my calls at work. My receptionist sends all my calls to the voice mail system." Della looked down to the floor. "I can't face him, Connie. I just can't face him! I wonder how long he's been with that woman?" Della's voice faded. "After all these years… I dedicated so much of my life to him..." She sighed but continued. "That's why I'm here – I just don't know what to do..."

"You've done the right thing by coming here, Della. But I think eventually you're going to have to face him either in person or through a second party. I'd like you to return for another visit with me – soon. I think by talking about your situation, I can give you the right guidance and strength to be able to face him again. Does that sound like something you'd like to do?"

Della opened her purse and removed her calendar book. "Do you have any openings this week?"

Doctor McRae removed an appointment book from her desk drawer. "Would tomorrow afternoon be too soon?"

"You just tell me what time and I'll be here!"

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all of your reviews. It's very hard for me to write about Perry and Della in a situation like this since I also really feel that they are happily together for life. If you'll just continue to be patient and stay with the story, your sadness will turn to joy as the story progresses. More to come soon. On a side note, kudos to Old English D and others who knew the scene in the episode from TCOT One-Eyed Witness (one of my favorite romance-hinted endings to an episode)!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **San Francisco, CA Bohemian Club 11pm, 16 May 1983**

Perry and Doctor John Wilburn were still seated in the bar at the Club when Perry finished describing the scene at the vacation house in Carmel. Without saying anything, Doctor Wilburn leaned forward in his chair to empty the burnt tobacco from his pipe into an ash tray. Perry patiently waited for Doctor Wilburn to say something but he remained silent while tapping the tobacco out of the pipe.

"Well, John? Do you have any advice on how I begin to patch this up? I've been trying to call her all weekend. I tried to call her at her office all day today. I was told that she wasn't at work today. I don't believe that at all because she never takes a day off! I don't know what else to do. I delayed my trip to Seattle by a day and really have to be there tomorrow, so any help you can give me tonight is appreciated. I'm living in a nightmare right now!"

"Have you tried to call any of her friends? Or even call Junior to find her?"

"I can't involve anyone else right now, John. Especially Junior! This is between me and Della. I really didn't expect to involve you in this either, but I didn't know what else to do. Your lecture tonight was my only hope for trying to figure this out on my own and you can see that I couldn't even make it through that!" Perry paused briefly before continuing. "And if you want to send me a bill for listening to me tonight, I'll understand completely..."

Doctor Wilburn just shook his head. "I would _never_ charge you for advice, Perry. As it stands right now, I don't even know what kind of advice I can give you. You're trying your best to work this out with Della. Until you actually speak with her, there's nothing else that you can do." He changed the subject. "What's the status of this Velma Thomas woman?"

Perry thought back to that day in Carmel. "I couldn't get her out of the place fast enough that day! She came out into the living room area when I got back in the house after Della drove off. By then Velma was only wrapped up in a skimpy towel. She thought that Della was my _housekeeper_! I think that I just told her something like she needed to get dressed right away. She went back into the bedroom and was getting dressed while I picked up the grocery mess from the floor. When I went back into the bedroom to get dressed and shut down the hot tub, she had gone back into the guest room by then."

"So how _did_ you explain Della's presence?"

"I didn't. She went on and on about housekeepers that awkwardly appear in the house unexpectedly and I just let her believe that's who Della was. I mean, what could I have done? Tell her that the love of my life, my _wife,_ had just showed up and ran out on me after seeing me with a naked woman in our hot tub?" Perry looked away from John and shook his head.

"You were definitely in a bad spot, Perry..."

"What was I thinking? How could I do this to Della?" Perry just stared into his coffee cup before he continued speaking again.

"I eventually just suggested that we get out of the house and go out for a bite to eat. I wanted her out of that house right away in case Della returned. We went to a nearby restaurant where away from Velma, I pulled the bartender aside and asked him to come over to my table after a few minutes and announce that I was wanted on the phone for an emergency call from San Francisco. That ruse worked really well and I told her that I needed to return to San Francisco right away. I think she just assumed that it had something to do with my upcoming trip to Seattle."

"What happened after that?"

"We went back to the house after I told her that I'd have to cut the weekend short. I was going to need to drive back to San Francisco right away with important business on the way back so I would have to send her back alone on a flight to San Francisco. After packing up her bag at the house, I took her to the airport in Monterey and got her out of there on the first flight out. When her flight left, I checked around the airport for flights to all of the airports around Los Angeles to see if Della was leaving on any of them. Normally we fly in and out of Burbank, but I still checked them all. When I figured out that she wasn't on any of the flights all weekend, I went over to the rental car place. There, I found out that she had not returned the rental car and was probably going to keep it all weekend as she originally planned."

Perry paused again for a moment. "I stayed in Carmel all weekend still hoping that Della would just walk back in the door so we could talk. But obviously she never came back. So many scenarios went through my mind – like maybe she just went to a hotel nearby, or even just _drove_ back to LA. I started calling her at home in LA and left messages on the answering machine… Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep all weekend and finally drove back here to San Francisco late last night."

The bartender came over to their table.

"Can I get you gentlemen anything else? More coffee?" He picked up the empty coffee carafe.

Perry and John both shook their heads as Perry spoke up.

"No thank you – nothing more for me. I think that I'm ready to leave here shortly."

After the bartender walked away, John asked Perry what he planned to do next.

"I'm going to keep trying to talk to her even though I have to be in Seattle for the rest of the week."

"Maybe she'll cool off after a few days and will return your call..."

"I can only hope. I can't believe I put myself in a situation like this! How could I do this to Della? Why did I…?" Perry's voice faded away as he buried his face in his hands without finishing his sentence.

They both stood up to walk out of the bar.

"Well Perry, you might not ever know why you let Velma Thomas get to you that way. I can only hope that you'll cut off all contact with that woman."

Perry nodded in agreement. "I'll think of some way to get rid of Velma Thomas. My priority right now is getting in touch with Della."

"Perry, I can only see that you're under a lot of stress in your long-distance relationship with Della. But like you said, you need to find Della first so you can start to talk about this."

"I think I'll fly from Seattle to LA after our court business is wrapped up Friday night. Hopefully she hasn't locked me out of our condo in Sherman Oaks by then."

Doctor Wilburn placed a hand on Perry's shoulder as they made it to the exit after gathering their things at the coat check desk.

"Good luck, Perry. You know how to reach me if you want to talk anymore this week."

"Thanks, John. Even though I have no idea where Della is, I'll know where to find _you_!"

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 **San Francisco, CA Offices of RKT Partners 1pm Tuesday, 17 May 1983**

As soon as he saw Velma Thomas walking in to the lobby of her office area, Bill Palmer broke away from the secretary he was speaking to nearby and called out to Velma.

"Velma! We need to talk right away! Make it your office or mine, but it needs to be right now!"

Velma stopped at her secretary's desk to pick up some mail.

"I don't have time today, Bill. I had a bad weekend and I don't need you to start in on me right now. I'll have to look at my schedule for my availability and get back to you."

Bill quickly walked across the lobby blocking her entry into her office door and lowered the sound of his voice.

"You weren't even in the office yesterday so I'm sure you've had plenty of time to recover from your _bad_ weekend! Meet with me now or answer to the Feds on your own later on..."

 _That_ statement got Velma's undivided attention. She unlocked her office door and invited Bill inside. When Bill got inside the office, she closed the door behind him.

"Alright. You have your meeting time. What's this about the Feds?"

"Apparently they've been snooping around our offices all of last week. The rumor mill tells me one was an IRS agent and the other is with the FBI. I can only guess that it will be related to the funds that you _borrowed_ from the company profit sharing plan."

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Bill! Just because there was a small accounting error when I was trustee for the plan shouldn't cause any alarm with the Feds. Every cent was paid back." She knew that it really was not an accounting error and not fully paid back yet but did not let Bill know that.

Bill Palmer just shook his head. "You probably only did a fancy cover-up if anything. There could still be written records of that floating around."

Velma sat down at her desk and thought it over. She could always make a quick fund transfer from another financial fraud scheme that she had going on. Apparently her devious plans from long ago were beginning to catch up with her.

"It may have _looked_ like an embezzlement situation to you, but I'm confidant that they have nothing on me for that! Is that all you're concerned with now? Can I get some work done? I have several projects going on right now." She turned her attention back to the paperwork that she had spread out on her desk.

"That's not the only concern I have right now, Velma. There's also the matter of your relationship with Nicholas Hanzlik – that Czech investor..." Bill was now leaning over her desk with his hands covering the paperwork Velma was trying to sort through.

The smirk on Velma's face showed her arrogance. "Oh please, Bill! If you think Nicholas Hanzlik is going to bring me down, you're way off base. I've got him wrapped around my little finger. Those payments he made to me were legitimate. I considered them consulting fees for assisting him with those land development loans he was defaulting on."

"They were blackmail payments Velma, and you know it! I saw the photos in the file! And besides, that construction project he took the loans for never got off the ground. He's weak. He's supposedly a wealthy foreign investor. If the Feds press him hard enough, you're as good as done if you were acting as his _consultant_. And if you think that serving time in a federal prison is a picnic, you're wrong! The shell games you're playing with the company funds will catch up to you!"

"Nicholas won't say a word. He lost his wife in the scandal anyway, so the photos in that file are worthless. And if he even thinks the Feds are on to him, he'll be out of the country so fast they won't even be able to detain him before he gets over the border. Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Bill shook his head with a with a frown on his face. "No, you're not _stupid_ – you're _careless_! To keep this ship afloat you're targeting wealthy, high-profile men that are not as dumb or vulnerable as you think! They didn't become rich or famous by being stupid!"

Velma paused and thought it over. "You worry too much, Bill. Trust me! I've got everything under control. Now why don't you go back to your office and count paperclips or something? Or just go and take your mistress on a long vacation… You're getting all worked up over nothing."

Bill started to say something, but turned away to leave the office. On his way out the door he muttered to himself, " _That woman's nothing but a high society-acting slut! I won't go to prison over her criminal antics_!"

As soon as Bill was out of sight, Velma quickly opened her personal phone book to look up a number for Nicholas Hanzlik. Without hesitation, she punched in his number from her desk phone.

Instead of going back to his office, Bill Palmer headed directly to the offices of the corporate attorneys. In his haste to immediately meet with the head of the legal department, he bypassed the receptionist desk and walked through the doors without being announced. What Bill failed to notice was the two Federal Agents carrying search warrants who were waiting in the lobby for their appointment with attorneys for RKT Partners.

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 **Sherman Oaks, CA 10am Saturday, 21 May 1983**

Frustrated that he could not get a flight the night before from Seattle to Los Angeles, Perry had to settle on a flight back to San Francisco on Friday night. He had to take one of the first flights down to the Burbank airport on Saturday morning instead. He was restless during the whole flight and practically ran through the airport upon arrival in Burbank to get in a taxi for the ride to Sherman Oaks.

His heart was racing as he got out of the taxi in front of his condo building after paying the driver for the fast ride from the airport. Keys in his hand he got through the front security door and immediately made it to the door of their condo. He paused at the door for a moment and put his ear to the door to listen for any movement inside. By this hour of the day, Della would be up finishing breakfast and probably planning her day. He finally put the key in the lock and entered.

Pausing again inside the door, he listened for Della before he finally called out.

"Della?"

It was eerily quiet in the home as he tossed his keys on the dining room table and walked further into the place.

"Della?"

There was no reply as he made his way to the master bedroom. She was not in the bedroom or bathroom. He went back into the living room area and looked out of a window towards a side parking lot to look for Della's car. When he didn't see it there, he walked out of the condo to the parking garage for the building. Her car wasn't there either so he went back inside.

" _She's probably doing laundry_ ," Perry thought to himself.

"Della?"

He opened the door to the laundry room and found it vacant.

As he closed the door to the laundry room, a strange thought came to mind.

" _What if she's hiding and just waiting to surprise me? After all, it's my birthday… We could_ _have_ _be_ _en_ _in Hawaii right now..._ " He continued checking the condo.

"Della?"

While he continued to walk around the condo, he was still thinking and hoping that she would jump out of a closet or something and surprise him. That thought process suddenly exploded in his mind when he shivered at the thought that she might just be waiting to knock him over the head with a frying pan. He recalled that she had pretty good aim with a frying pan many years ago when a thug tried to hold her and a client's wife hostage in an apartment while the thug searched the place for money.

Perry took a more cautious approach to walking through the place and did not find her in the den or guest bedroom either. He walked to the kitchen area to check for any notes she might have written. He found a few pieces of junk mail on the kitchen counter and slowly read the outside of the envelopes. It was obvious that she was there during the week since the mail was brought in. He walked over to the sliding glass door to look out on the deck into the courtyard and pool area.

" _She never misses my birthday_ ," he mused to himself.

The courtyard area was quiet and the pool area unoccupied. He walked back inside and went to the answering machine by the living room phone and saw the blinking red light indicating that messages were waiting to be heard.

Before listening to the messages, he looked around the room calling out for her again.

"Della?"

The place was still quiet. He pressed the rewind button on the answering machine and when it stopped, he pushed the button to play the messages. The automated robotic-sounding voice made the announcement.

"New message. Tuesday May seventeenth, nine forty-two a.m."

Perry's voice came on the recording.

"Della. Please pick up if you're there... I really need to talk to you… Please Della… Pick up… I just arrived in Seattle. We really need to talk… I can explain _everything_ if you'll just pick up the phone..."

His recorded message ended and the automated voice returned.

"End of new message."

Perry went on to the next message. It was another message that he left later that same morning. He finally sat down next to the machine and played through all of the messages – all of them from him while he was in Seattle. He pressed the rewind button to erase all of the messages and got up to take his suitcase into the bedroom.

Another thought came to him as he walked to the bedroom. " _Maybe she's out shopping or something_..."

Entering the bedroom, he stopped right away when suddenly he noticed that all of Della's cosmetics and perfume bottles were missing from her vanity.

" _That's odd_ ," he thought to himself and made his way over to their walk-in closet. His heart sank when he opened the closet door and found only a few empty wooden clothes hangers on Della's side of the closet.

He slowly backed away from the closet and stumbled backwards onto their bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed feeling light-headed and quite dejected, he knew then that she had moved out. " _She's left me_ ," he finally admitted to himself.

Perry let out a heavy sigh and cursed himself out loud.

"Happy birthday you big fool!"

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 **Los Angeles, CA Arthur Gordon Industries Building 10am Saturday, 21 May 1983**

With her office door keys in one hand and a pile of folders tucked under her other arm, Della entered her office and unloaded everything onto the top of her desk. Right away she leaned over the desk and turned on a desk lamp to better illuminate the pile of work on her desk. Her boss, Arthur Gordon, would be leaving on a trip by the end of the weekend and and she needed to finish a few projects for him before he leaves. She had spent part of the day before researching local relationship therapists and that took up a good part of her afternoon. Now that she had an appointment for that on Monday the twenty-third, she could fully concentrate on the tasks before her.

Over the past week, her days had been very busy. She moved out of the Sherman Oaks condo that she shared with Perry the day after she returned from her earth-shattering meeting with him in Carmel. By carefully planning the move between her normal office hours and spare free time, she managed to get most of her important belongings out of the condo and get things set up in her new place. While she confirmed that Perry was away in Seattle, she arranged for a moving company to meet her at the home in Carmel. It only took her part of one day to pack up her precious belongings out of that place, too. With her housing moves out of the way, she could concentrate on the projects that Mister Gordon needed her to finish.

By two o'clock that afternoon her growling stomach was distracting her from her work and she took a break to eat a light lunch that she had brought along from home. After the incident in Carmel she lost her appetite for a few days and managed to drop several pounds from her figure that she thought was getting a little pudgy around the middle. She had to face the fact that as she was getting older, it was sometimes harder to keep off the added pounds. At first she wondered if maybe that was the reason Perry had been fooling around with another woman – another younger-looking woman that did not appear to be pudgy around the middle as far as Della could see. She shrugged off that notion right away though and vowed that she was going to be a new woman with a different outlook on her life without Perry.

After eating her lunch, she pushed away her empty plate and looked at her desk calendar to see what was next on her to-do list. That's when she noticed the date on her calendar. Saturday, May 21st 1983. Perry's birthday. Della thought back to the night she first laid eyes on Perry. It was on his birthday at a dance in the USO Canteen in 1943 – forty years ago! Six years after that she was reunited with him again in Chicago when he made a job offer to her also on his birthday. They had spent every one of their birthdays together since that time. Thinking it over, her bottom lip began to quiver. Blinking back a tear, she quickly dismissed all further thoughts of Perry and decided to concentrate on her pile of work.

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 **Sherman Oaks, CA 3pm Saturday 21 May 1983**

Perry had been spending the day frantically searching the condo for any clues Della may have left behind when she cleaned out most of her belongings. She did not leave any hints as to where she had gone. He had finally had enough and decided to call Paul Drake Junior to covertly find out what he knew about Della's whereabouts. Paul answered his phone after it rang six times.

Perry tried to sound nonchalant as he spoke with Paul.

"Hi Paul! How are you?"

Paul sounded a little out of breath.

"Hey! Hello, Perry! I'm doing okay – I was just heading out the door. I almost didn't answer the phone! How are _you_ doing? Long time, no see!"

From the sound of Paul's cheerful voice, Perry got the impression that Della might not have told Paul about their meeting in Carmel. He pressed on hoping to get more information out of Paul without giving away the real reason for his call.

"Oh, I'm staying busy. Sorry that I couldn't come down for your show last weekend. Hopefully Della and I can make it some other time..." Perry was fishing for any hint that Della would have talked with Paul about Carmel.

"I guess I sort of screwed that up for you two – you know – with the Standing Room Only tickets. Next time I'll get you front row seats!"

Perry caught onto that clue right away – Della's message about the mix-up with the tickets made sense to him now. It was apparent to Perry that Della had not told Paul about what happened in Carmel and he was relieved. Now he needed to dig further to see if Paul had any contact with Della that might give him a clue as to where she was.

"We'll definitely take you up on that offer soon… Say, have you and Della talked about that any further? I haven't been able to get a hold of her lately – you know – sort of playing phone tag..."

"Well I've been out of town on a case which I conveniently turned into a couple of vacation days afterwards. I left her a message at work about that earlier this week. I agree with you – she's been busy and we barely had time to talk."

"Yes, she's very busy at work I guess. I suppose I'll just keep calling her there. We just keep missing each other…"

Perry knew he was not going to get any more useful information from Paul so he cut their call short. Della was obviously in town – somewhere – and back at work.

"Well, I'll let you get going, Paul. It's good talking with you. Hopefully we'll be able to meet up again soon!"

After hanging up the phone, Perry was running out of ideas as to where Della was staying. His only hope now was _hiring_ someone to find her. The only person he could think of for this job – a person that would keep this situation very confidential – was Frank Faulkner, an operative that long ago worked with his dear friend Paul Drake Senior.

In his little black book of phone numbers, Perry found the only phone number that he had for Faulkner and punched in the number on the phone. When he answered his phone, Frank Faulkner could not believe it was Perry Mason calling him.

"Perry! You old son-of-a-gun! How are you?"

"I'm doing okay, Frank. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has! Where are my manners, Perry? I should be calling you 'Your Honor', not son-of-a-gun! How's that job going up in San Francisco?"

"It's interesting, but tedious sometimes…" Perry wanted to get down to business right away. "Look, Frank, the reason I'm calling is that I need a huge favor. I'm in the LA area right now and wondering if we can meet. I really need your help on something and it needs to be soon!"

"You've got it, Perry! I'm free today. Do you want to meet in my office or would that be a problem for you?"

"Is your office still downtown?"

"Well not exactly. I left the old office downtown several years ago. I've had to downsize – I'm getting too old to do a lot of running around these days. I'm up in Van Nuys now – near the Courthouse."

Perry got the address and left right away to meet him. When he walked in the office door, Faulkner was standing near a coffee maker on a counter towards the back of the small office area.

"Come on in, Perry! I've got coffee brewing." Faulkner walked over to shake Perry's hand. "You look good, Perry!"

"Thanks, Frank. You still look good for an old PI! I'm glad that you could meet up with me on your day off!"

Faulkner turned back to the coffee pot and grabbed two coffee cups off of a nearby rack.

"It's no problem, Perry. I needed to come by the office for a file anyway. Like I said before, I've downsized so you'll have to excuse the looks of this office. Some of the cases I'm offered are easier for those younger PI's to manage. As a matter of fact, I sent some business Junior's way a couple of weeks ago. He's nothing like his old man used to be, but he has potential for such a young man! Have you talked with Junior? I'm surprised you didn't call him first for needing a PI."

Perry accepted a cup of coffee from Faulkner and they sat down at his desk.

"I can't involve Junior in this, Frank. As a matter of fact, I really need this whole thing to be _very_ confidential. Strictly on the QT"

"Sure, Perry. Whatever you need. What can I help you with?"

"I need you to find Della for me..."

 **TBC**

Thanks for taking the time to write reviews – I really appreciate your feedback! Any guesses on the television episode that Della used a frying pan for something other than cooking?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 **Van Nuys, CA Office of PI Frank Faulkner, 4pm Saturday, 21 May 1983**

Frank Faulkner was speechless. He could not believe what he was hearing. Perry wanted him to _find_ Della Street!

"I don't think I understand this, Perry. Is Della missing? Is she in some sort of trouble?"

Perry wanted to avoid giving Frank all of the exact details of the situation with Della, but needed to give him just a little into the background of the circumstances.

"I'll say this, Frank. We had a little misunderstanding last week up at our vacation home in Carmel. She stormed out of the place and we haven't talked since. I know she's back here in Los Angeles, but I don't know where. She, uh, sort of moved out of our condo in Sherman Oaks. What I _do_ know is that she _does_ go to work, but she won't take any calls from me..." He paused shaking his head. "I really need to make sure that she's okay, Frank. That she's safe. I don't dare approach her at work because this is a rather private situation."

Frank thought it over feeling badly for his friends.

"I see… I'm sorry about this, Perry. This must have been a pretty big spat if Della won't even speak to you! I always thought that you two were a perfect couple… How long has it been since you've seen her?"

"Since Friday the thirteenth." Perry muttered to himself, " _I suppose I should have known something bad would happen on that day! I wonder if Della was superstitious about that date_?"

Frank took a big sip of coffee then reached into a desk drawer for his notepad.

"I'll need a few details, Perry. Last I heard, she was working at Arthur Gordon Industries as an important executive secretary to the big boss. Is that right?"

"That's correct. Her position is so exclusive, she even has a staff of her own. That's several layers of office managers and other personnel that you have to get through to even get to her office."

"I don't think I'll have to infiltrate the office setting. It sounds like you just want to find out where she's _living_ right now – and that she's not in any danger or anything."

Perry rubbed his chin with his hand. "That's pretty much what I need, Frank. If I can get her address – and a phone number – that would be really helpful..."

Faulkner put his pencil to the paper. "Let me get a few things from you first. What kind of car is she driving now?"

"She drives a new Mercedes. It's a sort of light blue, or a silver color. It's a four-door... We bought it at the dealership in Encino right before Christmas." Perry patted his coat pockets looking for his notebook. "I don't know if I have the license plate number..."

"That's okay. Perry. I can dig out that information if I need it. I don't suppose she keeps regular business hours – sort of like all those years you two worked together?"

"As far as I know she doesn't normally work weekends now. She usually gets home at a reasonable hour..."

"I can get started on this right away today if you want, Perry. Where are you going to be? Is there a phone number that I can call you at when I find something?"

Perry grabbed a pencil off of Faulkner's desk and wrote down all of his phone numbers on a piece of paper. He gave the paper to Faulkner and pointed out the numbers.

"This first one is the place in Sherman Oaks. The one below that it my apartment in San Francisco. The very bottom one is my office phone in the Appeals Court. My secretary screens all calls at that number."

"How long will you be in town, Perry?"

"Only until tomorrow night, Frank. I have important business back in San Francisco Monday morning. I hope you can come up with something before I leave tomorrow night..."

"I'll do my best!" Faulkner grabbed a blank piece of paper to write on. "Here, I'll give you my office number and my car phone number. If _you_ get any information for _me_ , let me know right away!"

Perry left Faulkner's office and headed back to the condo. Hours later as he watched the sunset from the darkened living room in the condo, Perry turned on a lamp to look for another phone number in his little black book. After punching in the phone number on his phone and waiting for an answer on the line, Perry turned off the lamp to sit in the dark again as the last bit of the colorful sunset fell behind the mountains.

When the call was answered by a polite operator's voice, Perry stated his need.

"Good evening. I'm trying to get in touch with Archbishop Stefan Corro please."

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 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home, 7pm Saturday, 21 May 1983**

Della arrived home shortly before seven o'clock and immediately began preparing something to eat for dinner. She brought out the leftover pot roast from her refrigerator that she made earlier in the week, and opened a bottle of red wine that she picked up on her way home from the office. Sipping the wine as she heated up her meal, she set the table with a plate and silverware. After moving to her new place, she only unpacked a table place-setting for one. She could always unpack another place-setting if she would ever invite someone else over to eat. Right now, she was reluctant to even inform Junior of her break up with Perry, so there was no need to unpack anything more for now.

While reading over a stack of mail, she quickly ate her dinner and cleaned up her dishes afterwards. She really enjoyed having a peaceful evening at home – even on a Saturday night.

After refilling her wine glass, she made her way into the darkened living room as the sun began to set outside. Sitting in her recliner in front of the television, she grabbed the television remote control and began flipping through the channels to see what shows were on. She didn't find anything on television that caught her interest so she turned off the television which made the room go dark again. The sunset was a mix of yellow, orange, and grayish blue so she calmly watched it until the last part of the glowing sky began to disappear. She reflected back on her day and all of the things she accomplished in her office. Della let out a heavy sigh when she remembered that it was also Perry's birthday.

" _I've been with him for every one of his birthdays for so many years_ ," she thought to herself.

After turning on a lamp, she got up from the recliner and walked to a closet to look for a box of things that she had yet to unpack from her unexpected move from the Sherman Oaks condo. Della found the wrapped gift that she intended to give Perry for his birthday. She removed it from the moving box and momentarily held the package containing the personalized grill master cutting board and new barbecue tools.

" _I suppose that I can give this away as a silent auction item for a fundraiser – or just donate it to some other cause._ _He would have really liked this..._ " she mused to herself.

Della woefully put the package back in the closet and returned to her recliner. She reached for her glass of wine and turned off the lamp to take in the last bit of light from the sunset.

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 **San Francisco, CA Appeals Court Office of Perry Mason 9am Tuesday, 24 May 1983**

As Perry walked into his office his secretary followed him in and informed him that there was a call waiting for him. The secretary announced that the caller insisted on remaining on hold because it was important.

Perry unloaded his briefcase on the top of his desk. He had been avoiding all calls from Velma Thomas and asked his secretary to always inform Velma that he would return a call to her as soon as his schedule permitted. Anyone _insisting_ on waiting on hold might be Velma.

"Who is the caller?"

"He would only give me his first name – Frank. He said you'd know him."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Perry happily wanted to take _this_ call.

"I do know this caller! You can put that call through right away please."

Perry anxiously awaited the call on his phone and picked up the line as soon as it lit up.

"Frank! Good to hear from you! Have you found her?"

"Sorry it took so long, Perry. But yes – I found her. I waited to call you until this morning because I wanted to be sure that she was actually _living_ at the house where I followed her to..."

"Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's living in a house in Calabasas now. My men and I watched the place all night after I followed her there from her office yesterday. She left her office late yesterday morning and headed into downtown LA. She made a stop in the old Brent building, then I followed her to some sort of medical building in Encino in the afternoon. I lost her inside there, but was able to catch up to her again when she left that building. From there she went to the house in Calabasas."

"Good work, Frank! I wonder what she was doing in a medical building in Encino? Her normal clinic is in Tarzana. I'll make a note of that, Frank… So, what's her address in Calabasas?"

"Hang on a second. I have that written down on another page here." While he looked for the address, he continued. "There's even more that you'll want to know, Perry. While I was waiting to see if she was actually staying there and not just making another stop, I did more digging around. The house is owned by some guy named _T_ _homas A._ _Smith_."

Perry sat back in his desk chair and rubbed his forehead.

"Are you sure about that, Frank? She's _living_ there?"

"I'm pretty sure she is, Perry. Her car was there all night and I watched her leave in a different clothing outfit this morning. As a matter of fact, I'm calling you from my car phone in the parking lot of Arthur Gordon Industries right now. She just went in to work from that house." He gave Perry the home address.

After he wrote down the address that Faulkner gave him, Perry wanted to know more.

"What else do you know about this _T_ _homas_ _Smith_?"

"Nothing yet. I didn't know if you wanted me to check into him yet."

Perry was momentarily speechless. "Hmm. At least I have an address and you think she's safe and all… Is there any way that you can find out more about this man? Especially a phone number or something?"

"I'll give it a shot, Perry. It might take a while. _T_ _homas_ _Smith_ is a pretty common name. All I know so far is that he owns the house – oh, and he's sixty-three years old. I don't know if that helps you at all so far..."

That information only made Perry worry more about Della.

"Please do what you can, Frank. I really appreciate this..."

Faulkner thought that Perry sounded pretty down but said that he would gather more information.

"Look, Perry. Why don't I keep an eye on her at this place for a little bit? I can put a couple more men on this. In the meantime, I'll look into this Thomas Smith fellow and get back to you."

"Sounds good, Frank. Thanks again..."

After disconnecting the call, Perry turned in his chair to stare out the window. " _Damn!_ _She's_ _already_ _moved in with another man_ ," he thought to himself. Now he really felt down.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Offices of RKT Partners San Francisco, CA 10am Tuesday, 24 May 1983**

With her phone pressed to her ear, Velma Thomas paced back and forth in her office as she had to listen to music on her phone while on hold with a private investigator's office. Finally the investigator that she was waiting for got back on the line.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Thomas. I had another guy on the line that was trying to run down more information on the man you wanted us to locate..."

"Well? Have you found him yet?"

"Not exactly. What we _do_ know is that he has not left the country. We're still trying to track down some of his other business associates to see when they last had contact with him."

Velma was losing her patience.

"How hard can it be for you to track down a prominent businessman? Your agency was highly recommended to me. I don't think you're worth the high fees you've been charging me for a week already. I need results – and fast!"

The investigator on the phone line hesitated and rolled is eyes.

"I understand, Miss Thomas. But if you would have given us accurate information up front about this man's racket, we wouldn't have wasted two days running around to phony businesses that he was supposed to be working for… Sometimes these businessmen from other countries are hard to pin down..."

"During that time, I was waiting for a phone call _back_ from him, so I _couldn't_ give you more of the information on his business dealings… So when will I hear back from you again so I don't have to sit here on the phone listening to that annoying elevator music while you have me on hold?"

The investigator interrupted her tirade.

"Hold on a second, Miss Thomas. I have one of my guys on another line holding for me right now. I can either call you back or you can just hold on again..."

In a huff, Velma replied.

"I'll wait on hold..."

Two minutes later, the investigator came back on the line.

"Miss Thomas? I think we've located your man..."

Velma had a sigh of relief.

"Well? Can you detain him where you found him so I can meet with him face-to-face?"

"I don't think I can arrange that for you, ma'am… He's in the custody of the Feds at a detention facility in Oakland..."

Velma sat down hard on her desk chair and put a hand up to her forehead.

The investigator waited for her reply.

"Miss Thomas? Can we do anything more for you right now?"

In a hushed voice Velma finally replied.

"No!"

"Okay. So if you are terminating our services, how would you like this billed?"

Before the investigator could further arrange for her to send him a payment for his investigative services, Velma disconnected the call. She immediately punched in the phone number for Perry Mason's office. For what seemed like the hundredth time that week she was told by a secretary that Justice Mason was not available for calls at this time. At a time like this she could really use Perry's advice on the ins and outs of Federal criminal investigations.

For the first time in years, Velma Thomas was beginning to feel like her world was crumbling down around her and she didn't have a clue as to how she could stop the downhill slide this time.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Tuesday 24 May 1983**

As soon as Della and Doctor McRae got seated comfortably in Doctor McRae's office, the conversation began.

"Did you sleep better last night Della? Now that you've talked about this a little?"

Della thought it over before replying.

"I think I slept a little better, but I suppose I'm still not used to sleeping in new surroundings. I've only been in this new place two weeks. I'm still unpacking a few things. Did I mention that I'm just renting this place temporarily? It belongs to a co-worker of mine. He's working in Brussels Belgium on a project for Mister Gordon and it looks like he'll be gone until at least the end of the year..."

"That's convenient for you. Trying to find a new place to live so suddenly can be stressful."

"This worked out perfectly for me. I remember when Tom – uh, he's the owner of the house, mentioned to me that he was worried about his place being vacant for so long while he's out of the country. Well, with a quick phone call to him on the weekend that I returned from Carmel, he gladly accepted me as a renter. I didn't explain the circumstances of why I needed the place so suddenly, but we came up with a rental agreement and I moved in right away. That's just one of the things I was so busy with before I came in to see you."

"Since you haven't had any contact with Perry, does he know that you've moved?"

"I don't know, and frankly I don't care if he knows that I've moved out. I didn't take anything that belongs to him. I only removed _my_ things from our condo in Sherman Oaks. Later on I even managed a quick trip to Carmel one day and cleared out my important things while I knew that he was away in Seattle. I think he'll figure it out sooner or later – if he can _find_ the time! Maybe by my moving out, he'll be able to make room for his _girlfriend!_ "

Della immediately felt awful for sounding out on the bitterness she was feeling. Doctor McRae just waited for her to sound off some more.

"I'm sorry for blurting that out like that." Della looked down at the floor, ashamed of herself for talking out loud about things she should keep to herself regarding Perry and the woman he was with.

"It's okay to be angry, Della. I think that the more you talk out the things that are really eating at you deep down inside, the more productive our sessions will be."

"I suppose you're right. I _am_ really angry with Perry right now. Over the years there have been other women who have preyed on his gentlemanly mannerisms. When he noticed my surprised reactions to their kisses on his cheek or extra tight embraces, he gently put those women off right away. Perry is an intellect of the highest caliber when it comes to knowing the law. I just think he's dumb when it comes to seeing the wily ways of scheming women. Now I wonder how many others there were that I _didn't_ get to see him with. There were quite a few that tried very flirtatious advances on him over the years."

Della sighed.

"Can we change the subject for a while? There's got to be something else we can talk about for now isn't there?"

Doctor McRae agreed. There would be more time to return to that subject another day.

"You look a little more relaxed today, Della. I'll say again that you've done the right thing by coming in to talk about this. Were there any changes overnight?"

"There was nothing new overnight. I managed to stay busy after I left here. My new place has a garden area in the back yard. After I leave here today, I think I'll stop by a garden store on the way home and pick out a few plants to liven up the place a little."

"That sounds like a good plan. Gardening is very relaxing – for some." Doctor McRae wanted to get down to business and changed the subject again. She wanted to try a different approach to get Della to talk about how this entire situation came about.

"So when you left here yesterday, we ended the session after you described leaving Carmel and getting back to Los Angeles. For today, let's try and explore your relationship with Perry from the start. You briefly touched on that yesterday, but let's bring out more details of those first years."

Della shifted slightly in her chair before replying.

"I'm not sure how far back you want me to go..."

"Well I know you that met him during World War II. You eventually went to work for him in his law office and after a while, you fell in love with each other. Was that difficult working for a man that you're in love with?"

Della thought it over.

"I wouldn't say it was _difficult_. If anything, it was very exciting at first. I love staying busy and in that type of work, there was always something to do. Perry specialized in defending criminal cases – mostly murders. My goodness, there were some really peculiar cases that we worked on. Back in the beginning – before Perry had such a successful reputation – I think he bent the law a few times to get at the truth of the matter. In some ways that was dangerous, but like I said, I really enjoyed working for him."

"Was it dangerous for both of you or just him and his techniques of investigation?"

Della paused again to find the right words.

"I don't think that _I_ was ever really in danger, but I know Perry might have been. In some situations, we had to hide out on fire escapes, we endured threats by some people with weapons, and even had to con our way out of certain murder scenes before the police arrived. I'm sure there were probably other situations that he was involved in with his private investigator – I've mentioned him before – Paul Drake. Uh, that's Paul Drake _Senior_..."

"I certainly hope that he didn't put you in harm's way intentionally..."

"Heavens no! Although there were times when I was detained for questioning by the police – I was even _arrested_ as an accessory to murder, but that was completely my fault. I was put in a bad situation by a friend and Perry had to defend both of us. I know that he was really disappointed in me for not being forthright with him from the beginning, but he never scolded me for that."

"Did he lose many cases?"

"I'll just say that he lost a few over the years, but some cases were overturned either on appeal or new facts were brought in that cleared his client. He is, uh, _was_ very good at criminal defense."

"It sounds like you were involved in some very disturbing cases. Do you think that any of those cases were a turning point for you and Perry in your relationship? What I mean is, did any of them cause your relationship to drift apart – like from a difference of opinion on how the case will be handled?"

"No, I don't think so at all. Many of those cases brought us closer together. I just _knew_ what he needed to help put on a defense for his clients and I worked hard to put things together for him. We almost read each others' minds sometimes..." Della paused again to collect her thoughts.

"Perry was very dedicated to his clients. He was constantly thinking about his work – researching case law that he could apply, getting full background information on witnesses and his clients of course. Like I explained yesterday, we had a very unusual relationship. We kept separate apartments – even after we were married way back then. If we were baffled by a difficult case, he would be up all night sometimes – you know – following up on leads, reading, and pacing around. I needed sleep so I would just go to my apartment alone."

"That doesn't sound too unusual. I think it seems like he's very driven to give his clients the best."

"Oh, yes! He's very tenacious. There were so many things he worked hard on and in some cases, we didn't have a lot of time to get it done. We worked long hours, but when the case was solved, we could actually spend some quality time together – that is until the next case came along!"

Doctor McRae was carefully studying Della's facial expressions and tone of her voice with every question she was asking Della. She was sensing that the more Della talked about her life working with Perry, the less anger she was showing. Aside from a few derogatory remarks, Della portrayed Perry in a very positive way. Subconsciously, Della was very likely still madly in love with him. Doctor McRae pushed on.

"Do you think that by working so hard all those years that he just became burned out and wanted to try something else – like accepting the appointment to the bench?"

"That's another story all in itself – the appointment to the bench! There were so many other things that maybe caused him to slow down a little."

"Like what, for instance? Was there another turning point?"

Della thought it over.

"I think there was one big turning point long before his appointment to the bench. I think it changed our lives forever. It involved our dear friend, Paul Drake – _Senior_!"

"How so? Do you want to give me the details?"

Della sat back in her chair and got more comfortable.

"It's a long story..."

"We have plenty of time, Della..."

"Okay. It was back in May of 1966 as I recall. We had just finished a murder case involving various actors, producers, and the production crew of a hit television show. We were still in the courtroom putting away our casework from that when Perry began reading his notes about the next case that was on the horizon. Paul looked over Perry's shoulder at the notes and said that he was going to get started on the new case right away. It was while we were involved in that new case that our lives drastically."

Doctor McRae sat back in her chair and thought to herself, " _I think we're on the verge of a minor breakthrough_..."

 **TBC**

Thank you for your comments and thank you for reading. Not many guesses, but the episode about Della and the frying pan mentioned in the last chapter was TCOT Bogus Buccaneers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

 **Los Angeles CA Office of Perry Mason 2pm Wednesday, 25 May 1966**

With Della at his side feverishly writing shorthand notes in her notepad, Perry finished dictating a Memorandum of Understanding.

"That should do it Della. We can use the usual signature blocks and this will be ready to go."

Della closed her notepad and stretched her arms over her head.

"Right. I'll have it typed up right away."

"You look tired. That can wait if you need a break."

"I'm fine. But you need to review the terms of that Blaylock merger so I can finish putting that into a final draft."

Perry sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together under his chin.

"I've been thinking about that. I think I'll call Mister Blaylock first. I'm still not convinced that he's doing the right thing..."

Della stood up intending to return to her office but paused to find out Perry's doubts about the deal.

"All indications in the merger look like he'll come out ahead..."

"Not exactly. In the short term, he should be fine. But long term I see a disadvantage."

Perry's desk phone rang and Della answered it right away.

"Yes, Gertie? Hold on please..."

Della covered the phone mouthpiece with her hand and turned to Perry.

"It's your realtor friend on the line. He'd like to talk to you right away..."

Perry sat forward in his chair and nodded that he'd like to take the call. Della got back to Gertie and asked her to put the call through.

Perry answered the call.

"Hi Leo! What can I do for you?"

Leo the realtor told Perry that he found a house for him and wanted to set up a showing. Perry motioned for Della to sit down beside him so they could talk.

"Hold on a minute, Leo. Let me get Della in on this. I'm going to put you on hold for a second..."

"Leo found a place for us. Do we have to time go and look at it?"

Della took out their office schedule.

"You have part of tomorrow open after lunch..."

"Let's do this. I told Leo to only call if he found a place with all of our needs..."

Della shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine with me..."

Perry picked up the line to talk to Leo.

"We have time tomorrow afternoon..." Leo and Perry set up the showing for the next day. After more details from Leo about the house and where to meet for seeing it, Perry finished the call and turned back to Della.

"This house in Malibu just listed today. He says it has all the amenities we wanted. We'll meet him at one o'clock tomorrow."

Their conversation about the house was interrupted by a rhythmic knock on the back door to the office.

A smiling Della walked over to the door to greet Paul Drake. She stood off to the side of the door after opening it.

"Come in, Paul."

A very high-strung Paul walked into the office.

"Thanks, Beautiful! I'm glad that you're both here. Am I interrupting anything important?" Paul seemed a little nervous about something.

Della closed the door behind Paul and walked back over to Perry's desk.

"Everything that goes on in this office is important, Paul." Della sat down next to Perry.

"When did you get back from Palm Springs, Paul?" Perry had not heard from him since the day before.

"I returned late last night..." Paul lit a cigarette and settled into his usual leather arm chair. He anxiously glanced at his watch. "Did you have a chance to talk to Burger about the witness I found?"

"I spoke with him right after I talked to you yesterday. We're still scheduled for the preliminary hearing next week. I think he plans to attack the credibility of our witness."

After exhaling a long drag from his cigarette, Paul looked at his watch again and put it to his ear to make sure it was still working.

Perry noticed his agitation.

"Are you okay, Paul?"

A sly grin showed up on Paul's face.

"I'm okay. But I suppose I should let you both in on the _real_ reason I'm here right now."

Perry and Della quickly exchanged glances at each other then looked back to Paul. They both waited for Paul to speak.

"Not only did I find your witness in Palm Springs, but I also found something that changed my life! In a matter of minutes, I'm going to show you _why_ my life has changed. I'm just waiting on a phone call from Margo in my office..."

Perry and Della exchanged glances again before Perry calmly spoke up.

"The suspense is killing us, Paul. Can you give us a hint?"

At that moment, the phone on Perry's desk rang and Della answered it right away.

"Yes Gertie? Right. He's here. Put her on..."

Della handed the phone to Paul who hurried over to the phone.

"Yes Margo… Okay… Downstairs? Thanks. I'm heading down right now!"

Paul hung up the phone, crushed out his cigarette in the ash tray on Perry's desk and headed for the back door.

"Don't either of you move! I'll be right back!"

Della furrowed her brow and leaned in towards Perry.

"What in the world could change his life in Palm Springs, Perry? Do you think it's related to our upcoming preliminary hearing?"

"I don't know, Della." Perry seemed just as confused as Della. "I think we're both going to find out in a few minutes..."

They both anxiously awaited Paul's return and were mildly astonished when Paul came back in the back door about five minutes later with a little boy holding his hand. The blond, curly-haired, thin, young boy was wearing a white buttoned-down long-sleeved shirt neatly tucked in to dark blue trousers.

Perry and Della stood up right away.

Paul guided the boy front and center into the office and with a wide grin on his face, he introduced the young man.

"Perry Mason and Della Street, I want you to meet my _son_ – Paul Drake Junior!"

Perry and Della exchanged quick glances at each other again and turned back to the boy with big smiles on their faces. Perry moved towards the boy guiding Della along with his left hand behind her back and his right hand extended towards Junior.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Paul Drake Junior!"

Junior reached out and shook Perry's hand.

"It's nice to meet you Mister Mason." Junior glanced back up over his shoulder to look at Paul Senior for approval of his handshake.

Della had her hands clasped together in front of her grinning at the young boy who demonstrated his manners very well.

Junior looked up to Della and reached for her hand. Della held it out for him and Junior leaned forward and awkwardly placed a quick kiss on the back of her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Street." After a brief pause looking Della up and down he added, "You're as pretty as my Mom!"

Junior again looked back up to Paul Senior for a sign of his approval in what appeared to be a well-rehearsed introduction.

Perry snickered at Junior's boldness.

"He's a chip off the old block!"

Paul Senior turned back to Perry. "That's my boy!"

Paul Senior then rubbed the top of Junior's head.

"Well done, kiddo! These are my best friends and when your mother is finished with her doctor appointment later this afternoon, we will take Perry and Della out to dinner with our whole family and celebrate!"

Junior showed his excitement.

"Oh boy! Can I have a hamburger for my dinner?"

"You can even have _two_ hamburgers if you want! I've got to put some muscles on your bones so you can grow up to be big and strong like me!"

After showing a raised eyebrow aimed pleasantly at Paul, Della crouched down in front of Junior.

"Don't try to grow up too fast, Paul Drake Junior. You're a fine looking young man. May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm going to be six years old and I lost another baby tooth yesterday. See?"

Junior pulled up his upper lip to show Della the place in his upper row of teeth where he lost a tooth.

"My goodness! I hope that you'll be able to even eat _one_ hamburger for dinner tonight without that missing tooth. I hope that you got some money from the tooth fairy for that tooth!"

Junior dug into his front pants pocket to show Della his reward from the tooth fairy.

"I got a whole dime from the tooth fairy. It was under my bed pillow this morning and I didn't even see the tooth fairy that put it there!"

"Wow – a whole dime! You better put that back in your pocket so you don't lose it."

"When I get my own room at my Dad's house, I'm going to have a piggy bank and put it in there!"

Perry grinned while watching Della's interaction with Junior, but wanted more information from Paul. He was doing the math in his head about Junior's age.

"Would you care to share more information about your _whole_ family, Paul?"

"I can explain all about this at dinner. Right now Junior and I are going back to the medical clinic to pick up his mother and then go back to my apartment to get ready for dinner. So if you'll excuse us, we'll see you later – at Clay's of course!" Does five-thirty work for you?"

Perry and Della nodded at each other in agreement and Paul turned Junior towards the back door. They paused at the door and Junior turned back to Perry and Della.

Junior stuttered over his well-rehearsed farewell.

"Bye Beautiful!"

After winking at Della, Paul guided Junior out the door.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4:30pm Tuesday, 24 May 1983**

Doctor McRae showed great interest in Della's story about how Paul Drake Junior came into her life, and she wanted even more detailed information.

"I was wondering about Paul Drake Junior – how he came into your life. You mention him a lot so I suppose you're very close to him."

Della smiled in agreement.

"He's like a son to me in more ways than one..."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well you see, Perry and I obviously didn't have children of our own. That's another long story..."

"We have plenty of time if you're willing to talk about it..."

Della looked around the room trying to find the right way to explain more about her childless relationship with Perry.

"At the beginning of our relationship, Perry and I kept things uh, very _platonic_ , I guess you could say. Back then, society frowned on sex before marriage. I'm not going to lie though. We were uh, _sexually intimate_ before marriage. But you see, Perry asked me to marry him several times over the years. I was just very reluctant to marry him – he was such a successful, well-known attorney. I felt that it might hurt his reputation when people would find out that he wanted to marry his _secretary_!"

Doctor McRae questioned her logic.

"Was it really that bad back then if you thought that the general public would frown on a successful man marrying his secretary? Thousands of people were married under the same circumstances. What were you _really_ worried about?"

Della paused before answering.

"Back then, wives stayed home and raised children after marriage. I didn't want to give up working with Perry. And in addition to that, we were _very_ concerned about gossip columnists who would try to slander Perry's reputation. He wanted his private life to remain out of the spotlight and to live his life without someone printing something about him that wasn't true. Reporters always seemed to hound him – begging for comments on the cases he was working – taking photos all the time when he was out in public. I didn't want to create any reason for those vicious gossip columnists to make a big deal out of his relationship with me..."

"So you were very cautious out in public? No kissing or hugging?"

"Sort of… We'd go out dining and dancing a lot. We'd try to find out-of-the-way places – not big dance halls where celebrities would hang out. We attended a few parties together – uh, work-related events. But for most of his work-related functions he attended solo – like Bar Association meetings or Trial Lawyer Conferences. I was fine with that."

"So even after your marriage, you kept your relationship very private?"

"Yes we did. Only a few of our closest friends were aware of our marriage."

"And after your marriage – why didn't you have children?"

"Oh – I was going to get to that. I _couldn't_ have children. I had to have a hysterectomy – uh, that was before we were married. We discussed adoption and all, but we both agreed that with our unpredictable work schedule, bringing a child into the mix would be very difficult."

"I see. So you've stated that Junior was like a son to you in more ways than one. Let's talk about that. You mentioned earlier that Paul Drake Senior was a big part of a ' _turning point_ ' in your life – before Perry's appointment to the bench. Let's talk more about that."

"Well it all goes back to 1966 when Paul introduced Perry and me to Junior and Junior's Mom..."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Clay's Bar & Grill 5:30pm Wednesday, 25 May 1966**

Perry and Della walked into Clay's and Paul spotted them entering right away. He waved to them from the booth he was already seated in with Junior and Junior's Mother. Paul stood up as Perry and Della joined them at the table.

"Perry and Della, I'd like you to meet my _wife_ , Barbara!"

Perry had his arm around Della and after they quickly glanced at each other smiling, Perry nodded to Barbara Drake.

"We're delighted to finally meet you, Barbara!"

The petite, dishwater blond, forty-two year-old Barbara Drake remained seated and smiled back at them.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you also. This is probably very shocking to you – you know – to meet you after so many years..."

Paul interrupted before they could start asking prying questions.

"Why don't we all just sit down and enjoy a nice dinner before I explain how this all came about? I'll get Clay over here to find a chair for Junior so he can sit up higher." Paul waved across the room and got Clay's attention.

Perry politely assisted Della into the booth and slid in next to her.

"There's no rush to explain further, Paul. I think we've connected the dots and already know part of the story. I think this calls for a celebration!"

Clay, the bar's owner and friend to them all arrived at their booth with a smile on his face.

"Well this is a great honor to have all of you here – and at such an early hour! What is the occasion? No late-night working hours tonight?"

Paul answered up right away.

" _Perry_ is calling this a celebration so I think _he_ wants to put a bottle of your finest champagne on _his_ tab! Oh, and can we bring over a chair for this young man please? The booth seats are too low for him to be able to reach the table. I want my _son_ to comfortably enjoy his dinner!"

Right away Clay turned to Perry and Della.

"Let me be clear on this… Paul wants _your_ tab to reflect the charges for a nice bottle of champagne, and in addition, he wants to pull up a chair to the table for his _son_?"

They all laughed at Clay's puzzled expression on his face.

"Your heard Paul correctly, Clay. We're going to dine with Paul Drake _and family_ this evening!"

Before walking away, Clay rolled his eyes but went to get the chair for Junior. Slapping his palm to his forehead, he added, "I might have to bring over an extra chair for myself, too! This will be an interesting story to sit and listen to! But I can't allow Paul's _son_ to partake in the champagne. I'll have the bartender fix him a sparkling white grape juice instead!"

A few minutes later, their waiter came to their booth with the kiddie cocktail for Junior and champagne for the adults – compliments of Clay who got busy with other duties in the restaurant.

They all enjoyed a nice dinner before Clay could return to their booth to check on them. By this time he offered complimentary desserts.

"I have yet to hear the story of Paul Drake _and family_ , so perhaps I can offer you dessert to keep you here long enough to bring me up to date!"

"Paul's been pretty quiet during dinner, Clay. He hasn't even given Della or me the whole story yet… We're just as curious as you are." Perry nodded towards Junior and Clay got the hint that the adult discussion should probably not be heard by Junior.

Junior reached over towards Paul to get his attention.

"Dad, may I have dessert? I want a chocolate malt and an ice cream sundae! I ate both of my hamburgers and I'm still hungry!"

Barbara interjected right away.

"Dessert will be fine Junior, but you can only have one. Choose your favorite."

Their waiter arrived at the booth and Clay told him that they were deciding on dessert.

"This young man wants dessert for sure but he can't decide between a chocolate malt or an ice cream sundae. Why don't you take him back to the kitchen and have our kitchen staff make something really special for this young man?"

Junior was very excited to see the kitchen and left right away with the waiter. Once he was out of earshot, Clay sat down in Junior's chair.

"Spill the beans, Paul!"

Before Paul could begin the story, Barbara spoke up.

"If there's any story to explain, I should do it..."

They all gave Barbara their undivided attention.

"You probably already know some of the story but I want to explain exactly what happened." She paused for a moment and continued. "Paul and I were married in Mexico back in April of 1960. Just the day before Paul and I left LA for Mexico, I found out that I was… uh… _pregnant_. Well, one thing led to another with our long weekend away in Mexico and we got married. But I still hadn't found a way to tell Paul that he was going to be a father..."

With his arm around her shoulder, Paul pulled Barbara closer to him in the booth. She smiled up at him for his support as she continued with her story.

"It was very difficult for me to figure out how to tell him that I was pregnant. He's such a sweetheart and a very hardworking man… I don't know what got into me but I decided on our wedding night that I had to leave him."

She looked at Paul with a sorrowful expression on her face and Paul held her tighter as she continued.

"Even though I hadn't told him about being pregnant, I felt like I was trapping him into this marriage for the sake of a child… I packed up while he was sleeping and left for LA that night. I took a bus ride out of town using an alias. I made plans on the bus ride to clean out my apartment and I headed out of town to start all over again. I stayed in Riverside for a few months working as a waitress in a small cafe. And right before Junior was born, I settled in Palm Springs..."

Paul knew how difficult it was for her to share the story, so he took up the story from that point.

"Perry and Della can attest to this, but I searched all over for her and couldn't find any trace of her. All the while I thought that she just thought our marriage was a mistake for some other reason… I considered a marriage annulment but as the years went by without any sign of her, I just gave up on it and moved on as if our marriage didn't really even happen. Then while I was in Palm Springs this week working for Perry, Barbara found _me_!"

Barbara took up the story again.

"I was working overnight at the front desk at the hotel where Paul was staying. I saw his name on the guest register. It showed that he was due to check out the next morning. I thought it over all night and decided to wait around for him to check out. The rest is history!" Her bottom lip quivered but a smile came to her face as she reached for Paul's hand to squeeze it before continuing.

"This sweet, darling man recognized me right away as he was walking through the hotel lobby and he was all smiles after the initial shock of seeing me for the first time in six years… I cried for what seemed like a half an hour as he held me tight and comforted me. We went out for breakfast and talked – _a lot_! After breakfast, I took him to meet Junior."

Barbara fought back tears recalling the moment that Paul finally met his son.

"Junior has so many endearing mannerisms just like his father. I'm so relieved that I made the decision to reunite with Paul. It had been tearing me up inside for years. Now I know that I've made the right decision – and here we are!"

Paul was grinning ear to ear. "And we're going to live happily ever after!" He lightly planted a kiss on her cheek as Junior returned to the table with a small chocolate malt and a small ice cream sundae.

"Look Mom! Look Dad! I got _both_! Even if they're small!" Junior was beaming.

Clay got up from the chair and helped Junior into the seat as the waiter placed the desserts on the table in front of Junior.

"Well folks, this is indeed a cause for celebration and the tab is on me! I hope we'll see you all back here again – and soon!"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Doctor McRae's Office 4:55pm Tuesday 24 May 1983**

Della concluded her story about how Junior and his mother Barbara Drake came into their lives.

"I think you'll agree Connie, by finding out that number one, Paul had a son, and number two, that he had reunited with the woman he married in Mexico – which was a turning point in our lives. His marriage took place while Perry and I were away getting married in Paris."

"I can see that it would change your working relationship with Paul considerably. As a single man, he could drop everything and jump when Perry or you called for help on something. Now he had the added responsibility of a family. That type of change had to be hard on all of you..."

"This was just the tip of the iceberg! As a matter of fact, soon after we met Barbara and Junior, Perry and I were invited to a private ceremony for Paul and Barbara to renew their wedding vows. They involved Junior in the ceremony – it was really very sweet. But it wasn't long after the ceremony that Paul showed up in our office with even more news..."

Della noted the time. "Oh dear! It's almost five o'clock! I've babbled on for an hour! Maybe we should continue this another time. I really think you're helping me get through this. It helps to talk to you..."

"I'm glad you think that it's helping. Let's set up another session for you. I'm looking forward to hearing more about Paul's news that he shared after they renewed their vows. I'd also like to discuss how you think that all of this affected Perry."

"Ha! That will be a _long_ story!"

Della stood up to leave after they set up their next appointment.

"There's _so_ much more to talk about! I have a feeling we'll be meeting fairly regularly!"

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading and taking the time to post your comments on the story. I appreciate the feedback! There is a lot more to this story so please be patient as I continue to edit more chapters before I post them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 **Perry's Apartment San Francisco, CA 6pm Tuesday, 24 May 1983**

Because he was concentrating so hard on reading the papers from a file in front of him, Perry was startled and flinched when the phone at his side rang. As always he was hoping it was Della, but the person on the line was more than a welcome voice at the time. The man on the line immediately began his oration to defend the reason that he had not returned Perry's call until then.

"I just returned from a weekend presiding over the Sacrament of Orders in my diocese and found that I had an urgent message to call my good friend Perry Mason! Before I found the perfect time to return this call, I prayed to the Father Almighty above for any hint as to what my good friend Perry Mason needs so urgently. The Father Almighty wasn't so sure Himself so I called as soon as I could."

Perry smiled. "Good evening, Padre! Why such a verbose explanation for not returning my call sooner? Now that you're such a high-ranking member of the priesthood, you're hard to get a hold of!"

"Well, like I said, my diocese had an important Ordination ceremony on the weekend, and after all of that, many of us spent the rest of the day Sunday and all of yesterday in a retreat. It's always best that we're not interrupted with phone calls or other administrative duties during retreat, so as soon as I saw a message to call you, I did! So, what's so urgent my friend?"

Perry was relieved that the man he met as a Navy Chaplain during World War II was finally returning his call. Already a deacon studying at the seminary to become a priest, this man was commissioned into the Naval Chaplain Corps where he thought he was desperately needed. After the War, Perry reunited with this esteemed Navy Chaplain when he was ordained as Father Stefan Corro and was assigned to a small parish in Los Angeles.

"I don't know how to say this, Padre, but I think that I need to confess a sin!"

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone line, Archbishop Stefan Corro tried to soothe Perry's conscience.

"Confess a sin? After all of the years we've known each other, you've never made a confession to me. This must be a very serious situation, Perry!"

Perry became more serious now.

"It is! My life is in complete disarray right now and I just knew that if I turned to you for advice on how to get through this situation, you'd have the right guidance for me."

"What's causing you so much anguish, Perry?"

"It involves me and, uh, a _situation_ with Della..."

"I see… I'll do anything to help. What is this _situation_?"

"I'd rather not discuss this over the phone, Padre. I know that you've been transferred from the San Francisco diocese, but is there any chance we can meet in person to talk about this? I'll go anywhere to meet up with you! I just really can't talk about this over the phone."

"I understand… As a matter of fact, Perry, I'll be in San Francisco on Friday morning – the 27th! Can this confession about a sin wait until then?"

"Friday will be perfect, Padre! You just let me know when and where and I'll be there!"

Archbishop Corro looked into his calendar book.

"I think we should meet right away Friday when I get into San Francisco. Perhaps some time in the late afternoon." His tone changed to try and cheer Perry up a bit. "And after we absolve you of this _sin_ , I'd love to catch up with you – and maybe even play some gin rummy!"

"I don't know how I can easily be absolved of my immoral behavior, but if anyone can grant me some sort of penance, it will be you! And I'd love to make a few dollars off of you playing gin!"

When the meeting time and place were settled, Perry hung up the phone feeling just a little better. Archbishop Stefan Corro always had a way of making Perry think clearly about the important things in life. Right now Perry thought he was in desperate need of spiritual enlightenment to drown out his inner demons.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Bohemian Club 6pm Wednesday, 25 May 1983**

While walking from his office in the Courts building to the Bohemian Club, Perry was hoping that he would be able to speak privately with his friend Doctor John Wilburn after the membership meeting that night. He had a few questions he needed to ask Doctor Wilburn and hoped that Wilburn would have the time that evening. As he approached the entry door to the club, a woman emerged from the side of the entryway and called out to him.

"Perry! I'm so glad that I found you!"

Velma Thomas stood between Perry and the entry door and he immediately guided her away from the door off to the side.

"Velma! What are you doing here?"

"It's really important that I speak with you! I've been trying to talk to you for days!"

Perry frantically looked around the area and wanted to get rid of her right away.

"I can't allow you inside the club. It's membership night – no guests are allowed. Especially _female_ guests."

"Then let's walk to the coffee shop down the street."

Perry realized that this was the moment of truth and he would need to put an end to his association with her.

"Look Velma. I received your messages. But I've been very busy. This is not a good time. I have a committee meeting ahead of our membership meeting tonight and I really need to get inside."

"Just give me one minute, Perry. Please! I really need some _advice_ from you. If it's easier for you, I can wait here and meet with you after your meeting..."

While other Club members walked past them to enter the club, Perry shook his head and decided that he needed to finally brush her off – for good.

"Listen Velma. This isn't going to work. I don't know what kind of advice I can give you. If it's legal advice you need, see a lawyer. My life is very complicated right now. My job is very important to me and I've had to travel a lot lately. I have a very serious situation going on right now that needs my full attention. I can't see you anymore... I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. I hope you can understand. Anything between us will just not work. Please stop calling me. Now if you'll excuse me, I really have to go. Goodbye Velma."

Velma reached out for his arm to plead with him, but he swept her hand off and walked into the club. She stood outside of the doors speechless for a moment, then stomped off thinking to herself, " _Nobody treats me this way! If he thinks that he can get rid of me that easily, he's wrong!_ " She flagged down a taxi cab to go home.

Arriving near her Nob Hill home in the taxi, Velma noticed Police activity on the sidewalk in front of her place and two men wearing dark suit coats standing on her doorstep. Her front door was open and she could see the lights on inside with other persons moving around inside the dwelling. She quickly told the taxi driver to keep driving.

"Don't stop here! I've changed my mind! Get me to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel – quickly!"

Entering the Ritz-Carlton hotel, Velma made her way over to a row of pay phones in the lobby. Her hands were shaking as she searched her purse for coins to make a call. She called a secretary from RKT Partners at her home.

"Mary? It's Velma. I need you to do a favor for me right away. Put a call into the Ritz-Carlton hotel and reserve a room for RKT Partners under the name of Velma Richmond. Use the corporate account reservation code."

Mary was confused and anxious since nobody in the office had heard from Velma all day.

"Where are you Velma? The office was complete chaos today! Mister Palmer was taken out of the building in handcuffs and there were FBI agents everywhere going through our files! Corporate attorneys watched over the activity and when the agents wanted to ask questions, the attorneys told us to not answer them. We were sent home for the day and told not to return until further notice! What's going on, Velma?"

"I don't have time to explain! Please, Mary! Just call the hotel like I've told you to do! I'll call you back later and explain!"

"I'll give it a shot, Velma, but just so you know, I heard from some of the others in the office that all of our corporate accounts were frozen."

"We might still have time. We've done a lot of business with the Ritz over the years. My grandfather probably built the damn place after the earthquake! They can't possibly turn you down for this. They just couldn't have been notified already that our accounts have been disabled. Call them _now_!"

Velma waited twenty minutes after her call to her secretary before she walked up to the hotel registration desk.

"Good evening. I'm Velma Richmond checking in for a reservation through RKT Partners."

The desk clerk shuffled through a stack of paperwork in front of him and then typed the name on a computer keyboard. After a moment, the clerk looked up from the computer screen in front of him and handed Velma a registration form.

"The reservation does not indicate how many nights you'll be staying with us, Miss Richmond."

Velma breathed a sigh of relief and began to fill out the registration form.

"Umm, my business here might be two days. I'll check back with you when I know more."

She completed the form and handed it back to him.

He handed her a packet with a room key.

"You have room 710. Billing will be forwarded to RKT Partners corporate account with the corporate rate." He pointed across the lobby. "The elevators are off to the side. There is a welcome packet in the room explaining all of our amenities. Is there anything else I can do for you Miss Richmond?"

"No, this is all that I need." She would get to the privacy of her hotel room and plot her next moves. Apparently the Feds were closing in on her faster than she thought they would.

As she walked away from the registration desk, the clerk found it odd that she did not have any luggage with her.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Bohemian Club 8pm Wednesday, 25 May 1983**

During the membership meeting, there was the induction of three new members added to the busy agenda and each new member was afforded the opportunity to introduce themselves. As the final new member gave his introduction speech, Perry moved over to a vacant seat next to Doctor Wilburn and quietly told him that he wanted to talk with him after the meeting. Perry anxiously but politely waited for the meeting to adjourn. As soon as the club president tapped the gavel to adjourn, Perry and Doctor Wilburn headed for the bar.

As they sat down with their drinks at a table in the bar, Perry blurted out his misery right away.

"She left me, John!"

"I'm sorry to hear that, Perry. Was she hysterical or calm about it?"

"I didn't _talk_ to her. She still won't take my calls. I flew down to LA last Saturday and went directly to the condo. She'd already moved out. All her clothes and most of her personal effects were gone."

"Where did she move to?"

"I didn't know at first, so I hired an old PI friend of mine to surreptitiously track her down. She's living with some man in a house in Calabasas now." Perry took a big gulp of his bourbon.

Doctor Wilburn was packing his pipe with tobacco.

"Who's the man that she's with?"

"I only have a name... _Thomas Smith_! He owns the place. The PI is checking him out for me, but it's such a common name, he's having some problems. Hopefully he'll know something soon."

"Why is it so important to know who she's living with now, Perry?"

Perry was suddenly dumfounded by the question and took some time to think about an answer.

"Well I don't want her hanging out with some nut case or an abuser..."

Doctor Wilburn lit the pipe and exhaled some smoke.

"Do you really think that she'd just run off with someone that she doesn't know very well?"

Perry was starting to get a little perturbed by John's lack of support.

"Whose side are you on, John? If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you want to know more about this guy?"

"I'm on your side so far, Perry. But I've only heard _your_ version of what transpired in Carmel. I know you're remorseful, but I'm trying to get you to _think_ clearly!"

"I _am_ thinking, John! She's all I think about day and night! What if she's been casually seeing him since I've been in San Francisco? She's never mentioned any _Thomas Smith_!"

"Look, Perry. You know Della better than anyone else. She's hurt. She's upset. And you're tiptoeing around the issue by being fixated on some new guy she might have turned to. It's not this man's fault! What good does it do to do a background check on _him_? To me, that's a waste of time. _Think_ , Perry! You came up with information to help your clients by _thinking_. Why can't you think of what you're doing to help _yourself_? Put more of your time and effort into meeting with her face-to-face. You have the address – so go and _see_ her! Or are you afraid of seeing her being consoled by someone else?"

Perry gave the bourbon and ice in his glass a swirl while he pondered John's lecture.

"That's part of what's killing me, John – the thought of her being with someone else..."

Perry rubbed his forehead before he continued.

"I just don't know, John. I don't sleep very well. I can't fully concentrate on any cases brought before the appeals court… But I think I made it clear to Velma Thomas tonight that I don't want her contacting me anymore. She was waiting for me at the entry door tonight..."

"Did you ask her to meet you here or did she just show up?"

"She just showed up. Like I said, I haven't had any contact with her since I put her on a plane in Carmel. I think I made it very clear to her tonight that there's nothing between us and that she needs to stop calling me..."

"You've done the right thing by cutting off all contact with her. That's usually the first thing any therapist would recommend. Now you need to work on rebuilding your relationship with Della – if she's willing to meet you halfway. The only way to do that is to go to her. I hate to say this, but it might be too soon for that. You can't rush this. She might need some time to think about this, too."

Perry rubbed his forehead again.

"Right – she's taking her time and thinking about this at _Thomas Smith's_ house!"

Doctor Wilburn frowned and when Perry saw that, he backed down.

"I'm sorry, John. I'm just venting. I know you're trying to help and I appreciate that… You'll be pleased to know that I _have_ taken _some_ of your advice."

"Oh? What advice?"

"You mentioned that during your episode with Betty, she suggested speaking with her pastor. Well, on Friday I'm meeting with a member of the clergy that I've known since my Navy days. He's an Archbishop now and knows Della, too. I've never been a very religious man, but I'm hoping that he'll give me some spiritual advice that will help."

"Now that's what I mean about you _thinking_ , Perry. You caught a hint from me and acted on it. I hope something positive comes of this."

"I'll let you know. And you're probably right about giving Della some time. I do know her well enough to know that she wouldn't just run off with another man like that… I'm demonstrating a lot of insecurity and I need to stop that! After I sit down with Archbishop Stefan Corro, I think I'll figure out a way to contact Della and see if she'll actually talk to me."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment** **10** **pm Thursday, 24 May 1983**

Perry brought a fresh cup of coffee over to his easy chair and sat down in front of the coffee table where he had spread out several files for upcoming court cases. He found it difficult to concentrate on current cases brought before his appeals panel – mostly because he had not done enough background research on what was possibly being appealed. The Memorial Day holiday weekend was coming up and after that, there were several cases scheduled for appeals in June. After everything that had been going on in May, Perry wanted to be able to think clearly on the cases coming up.

As Perry quickly read the outlines for each file, he sorted them on the table and wrote down his own notes. The first file was a long-running dispute over a patent involving computer programs. He made a note to study computer operations. The next file was a copyright issue and he wrote down a note to review the Sherman Anti-trust law. He didn't need any notes to study the criminal bank robbery evidence handling issue on the next file. The final file was labeled RKT Partners with a synopsis indicating Interstate Banking Fraud among other things.

Perry looked up from the file trying to recall why this one sounded familiar to him. Opening the file further he read more on the notes from the meeting called for by RKT Partners and reviewed by his law clerk. Quickly reading more of the meeting notes he noticed what the RKT Partners abbreviation involved. "Richmond Kirkland Thomas LLC". He looked away from the file when it hit him. Velma Thomas had interrupted the end of that meeting.

" _Was that more than just an innocent mistake barging into that meeting_ ," Perry thought to himself.

He immediately began reading more of the file until he found what he was looking for. Velma Thomas was a major player for the RKT Partners and now it was clear to him that she was probably trying to use him in some way to possibly influence an appeal.

Suddenly he had a sick feeling inside realizing that this was an elaborate set up by Velma. He was deceived by a scheming woman and now he's paying the price for not seeing through her manipulative ways. The cost of his stupidity was losing Della, the love of his life.

Perry knew right away that he would have to let the Appeals Court Chief Justice know that his panel would not be able to hear this particular appeal. Looking at his watch, he noticed the late hour and decided that he would take care of that notification first thing in the morning. Perry got on his phone to call Frank Faulkner instead. Faulkner would be able to get more information on Velma Thomas and not involve the Appeals Court – and Perry in particular. If Faulkner could come through for him, he could start on damage control not only for the appeals court process, but also for himself as an appeals court justice. Once he fixes this mess, he would be able to put a lot more effort in trying to win back Della.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Westin St. Francis Hotel 4pm Friday, 25 May 1983**

The elevator carrying Perry up to the floor where Archbishop Stefan Corro was waiting in a suite couldn't climb fast enough. Perry was very anxious to see his dear friend and get this _confession_ off his chest right away. He didn't even have to knock on the door because the Archbishop was waiting at the door with his hand extended for a handshake.

"Perry! The front desk notified me that you were on your way up. Come in my friend!"

They shook hands and shared a brief embrace as Perry walked into the room.

After the Archbishop closed the door behind them, he guided Perry further into the suite.

"Make yourself comfortable. I took the liberty of bringing in a fine bottle of bourbon for the occasion. I'm assuming you still have a taste for a quality refreshment. Or shall I just call it truth serum?"

"Thanks, Padre. I was wondering if you still imbibed in what we used to call ' _a heavenly swill_ '. You don't know what this means to me to be able to meet with you."

Perry paused and changed the subject.

"And you look great, Padre! Or should I be calling you ' _Your Excellency_ ' – or is it ' _Your Eminence_ '?"

The Archbishop placed two glasses filled with ice on the table in front of where they were seated and began pouring the heavenly swill.

"I like _Padre_ when it's an old friend addressing me." He handed Perry a drink and raised his glass to toast. "And for the record – if and when I'm called on to serve as Cardinal Stefan Corro, you, my friend, can skip all formalities!"

They lightly tipped their glasses together and took a sip of the bourbon before the Archbishop continued.

"How long has it been, Perry? Five years? Six?"

Perry thought back in time before replying.

"Let's just say it's been too long. Obviously you've moved out of this area. Where have you landed now? I made several phone calls to track down your answering service."

"I've taken over a troubled diocese in Denver. There are several parishes, three high schools, a seminary, and even a non-profit hospital in this diocese. That hospital is a nightmare in itself with the rising costs of medical care and all… But enough about me, Perry. What's troubling you, my friend?"

Perry sat back in his chair and loosened his tie a bit.

"It's a long, complicated story..."

The Archbishop raised his glass again.

"We have a full bottle of bourbon – and there's an extra bedroom in this suite if that jug loses all of its contents… But enough of my attempts at humor for now. What brings you here?"

Perry began his _confession_.

"A couple of weeks ago, I struck up an acquaintance with a woman – uh, very innocently to start – under the guise of working on a children's cancer research fundraiser. We went out for a dinner to discuss this fundraiser and before you know it, I was at her place for dinner a couple of nights later. I don't exactly know what happened, but to put it mildly, I spent the night with her. To make matters worse after that encounter, I invited her to go away with me for the weekend. I don't know why I did that. Maybe it was out of guilt about leaving her place in the middle of the night or whatever. But asking her to go away for the weekend was really just to let her know that we need to put that behind us, slow down, and get to know her more professionally for this fundraiser. At first she seemed well-to-do and connected in the business community and I say that because of how she presented herself."

The Archbishop was still listening intently while Perry paused to sip more bourbon before continuing.

"I should back up here a little. The weekend that I chose to go away with this woman was one that Della and I were supposed to be meeting. We were going back and forth over the phone about either meeting in LA to go and watch Junior play the sax in a band, or just meet as we usually do in Carmel. We never really finalized our plans and I thought that Della was going to stay in LA expecting me to fly there instead. I suppose I didn't make that very clear to her that I was not coming to LA. So I brought this woman to Carmel. While I was preparing a light lunch, this woman took off her clothes and got into the hot tub in my bedroom. I had a really bad feeling about that because it was not in my plans to encourage something like that. Anyway, I joined her in the bedroom – just soaking my feet in the tub – when I heard something in the kitchen. It was Della who showed up obviously unexpected! I'll have to admit, I really panicked and was hoping to get Della out of the house without her seeing my visitor. But that's when that woman called out to me from the bedroom. Della brushed by me and walked into the bedroom where she saw that naked woman climbing out of the hot tub!"

By just describing this scene to his friend, Perry began to sweat and wiped his brow before taking another big gulp of his drink.

The Archbishop sighed and swirled the ice in his drink.

"Della must have been devastated at that sight..."

"She was! She stormed out of the house and I couldn't catch her. She roared out of the driveway in her rental car and I haven't seen or talked to her since! She's moved out of our condo in Sherman Oaks – and last I heard, she's moved in with some other man in Calabasas!"

"Do you blame her?"

Perry wiped his brow again and slowly exhaled.

"I don't blame her at all! I'm such a fool, Padre! How could I do this to her? I love Della more than anything in the world! I can't even beg her to talk to me because she won't answer my calls. If I hadn't hired a private investigator to locate her, I wouldn't even know where she's living right now."

"Why did you hire someone to locate her? Surely you could have tracked her down on your own..."

"That was one of the problems. I had to fly to Seattle right after that for Court business. I _did_ fly to LA to try and talk to her when I finished business in Seattle, but discovered she had moved out without a trace! I _had_ to hire someone – someone who would keep this very confidential. He knows both of us because he used to work for Paul Drake."

"Well Perry, you really _are_ in a tough spot. What happened with this other woman?"

"You're asking the same things that another friend of mine has asked. I totally cut ties with her – until last night when she confronted me outside of the Bohemian Club. I told her right away that she should stop trying to call me – I'm not interested in having anything to do with her anymore. To top it off, when I got home after the Club last night I was going through some files from work and figured out that she was probably setting me up for this encounter all along! How could I fall for that?"

"I can't answer that, Perry. I'm glad that you're able to confide in me and your other friends for getting this out in the open."

"I could really use some advice, Padre. What do I do now?"

"You already have the means to figure this out. You have her _address_ , Perry. Break the ice! If you can't go there and see her in person, _write_ to her! I can't believe you haven't done that yet."

"The thought crossed my mind a few times. But I don't know what I'd say..."

The Archbishop got up and walked over to the desk in the suite to get some note paper and a pen. He tossed the pen and paper on the table in front of Perry.

"Here you go. Start pouring your heart out. You probably won't need my help with any spelling or grammar, but I'm here to help you find the right words if you get stuck..."

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading and sharing your comments. As always, I appreciate your patience in waiting for the next chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 **Los Angeles, CA Doctor McRae's Office 3pm Friday, 3 June 1983**

A little fatigued from a long day at work, Della let out a heavy sigh as she settled into her usual chair in Doctor McRae's office. Doctor McRae brought her a cup of coffee.

"You look tired, Della. How have you been?"

"I'm doing okay. Even though the work week was shorter due to the Memorial Day holiday, I still put in some long hours this week. But it's fine, just fine." The twinkle came back into Della's eyes. "I like to stay busy..."

Doctor McRae settled into her chair with her coffee.

"I'd like to start off our session today with any updates you want to share. What's happened since we last saw each other?"

Della thought it over before answering.

"Nothing really – I mean if you're talking about speaking with _him_ or seeing _him_..."

Doctor McRae caught the irritable tone of her voice with that statement. " _She's still in the anger stage"_ , she thought to herself.

"I see… Is that okay with you – that you haven't had any contact with Perry?" She intentionally mentioned him by name to see her reaction.

Della looked up and away with a furrowed brow.

"I think it's just fine with me. I'm staying busy. I'm adjusting to my independence quite well."

Doctor McRae thought that Della was feeling very uneasy with her reply but didn't let on about her observation.

"I'm glad you're adjusting so well. That's progress… So, last time we met I was asking you about how you think Perry is doing with all of this turmoil in your relationship. Have you thought about that at all?"

"To be honest, I really _haven't_ thought about it. _He_ brought this on. _He_ made his choice… She paused for a moment to carefully give Doctor McRae more information about Perry's past. "This isn't the first time he's been uh, _unfaithful_..."

Doctor McRae watched closely as Della shifted in her chair.

"Do you want to talk about _that_?"

Della became a little flustered knowing that her choice of words for Perry's past behavior wasn't exactly truthful.

"Maybe I should rephrase that statement. He wasn't exactly _unfaithful_ , but more or less allowed himself to be taken advantage of by other women… I suppose that maybe he was just leading these women on to get something out of them that would help him solve a case or save a client, but to me his flirtations were a little overboard… Especially when he knew I was watching him..."

Della looked down and clasped her hands together on her lap. Doctor McRae noticed her discomfort and decided to change the subject. She wanted to start off the session on a more positive note.

"We can come back to that topic if you're troubled by talking about this. Why don't we change gears here a bit and go back to your story about Paul Drake and his family?"

Della began to relax right away.

"Oh, right. Paul Drake and family..." Della looked around the room again searching for the right way to continue her story of Paul, his wife Barbara, and their son Paul Drake Junior.

"As I told you before, it was back in 1966 – either the end of May, or middle of June. I don't remember the exact date, but it was a while after Paul and Barbara renewed their wedding vows. Perry had just purchased our house in Malibu..."

Della smiled at the memory of those days before continuing. "A lot of things changed around that time. Perry legally changed my title in the office from not only being his confidential secretary and office manager, but he made me some sort of an _associate_. And I don't mean an associate that practices law, but sort of a _co-owner_ of the law office. He explained to me that any salary he made, that I would make the same amount. Well since I was still in charge of the checkbook and worked directly with our accounting firm, I made sure that since Perry was the brains in this outfit, that he would be compensated a lot more than me!"

Doctor McRae noticed the attitude change in Della as she reminisced about her work life back in 1966. " _She was really happy working with Perry back then_ ," Doctor McRae thought to herself.

Della sipped her coffee and continued the story with a more serious tone.

"Anyways, Perry and I were in the office working on something one day when Paul came into the office looking very forlorn..."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Perry Mason 1pm Tuesday, 21 June 1966**

With just two loud taps on the back door to Perry's office, Paul Drake walked in on Perry and Della as they were finishing dictation on a legal matter. Without saying anything, Paul immediately sat down on his favorite leather arm chair and with shaky hands, he fumbled to light a cigarette. Perry and Della exchanged glances before Perry calmly greeted him.

"Well hello, Paul. What brings you in this afternoon? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

After finally lighting his cigarette and snapping the lid shut on his lighter, Paul exhaled the cigarette smoke and finally spoke.

"I need some legal advice… A very serious situation has come up and I think you're the only ones that can help me out with this..."

Della lowered her notepad to the desktop and Perry pushed the papers in front of him off to the side. Clasping his hands together and resting them on his desk, Perry asked what Paul needed.

"We'll do anything for you, Paul. You know that… Are you in some sort of trouble?"

Paul tapped an ash from his cigarette into the ash tray on Perry's desk and began telling them what he needed.

"I need to legally make the both of you Godparents for Junior – that is if you're willing to _be_ Godparents..."

Puzzled but concerned about Paul's needs, Perry and Della again looked at each other before Perry replied.

"Of course we'd love to be Godparents to Junior. What brought this on so suddenly – if I may ask?"

Paul gripped his forehead with his hand and had trouble continuing.

"It's about Barbara… She's, uh… She's… She's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and her doctor says that her prognosis is not good at all!"

As Paul lowered his head to try and hide his sorrow, Della immediately got up and walked around the desk to try and console him.

"Oh my goodness, Paul. That's horrible news! Are you _sure_ about the prognosis?" Della turned back to Perry as she rubbed Paul's shoulders. "Perry? Can't we arrange for another doctor to give a second opinion? Or maybe arrange for her to go to the Mayo Clinic?"

Before Perry could answer, Paul continued.

"She's had three _second_ opinions already… They're more than sure about the cancer. It's just up in the air about how _long_ she has to live. One doc said two months – another was not as generous and gave her three weeks..." He looked up and took another long drag of his cigarette. "This is what I've been dealing with the past week and a half… I couldn't tell you until now because we wanted to be sure. Now we're making plans – plans for me to raise my son solo and probably back off of my work a little more..."

"We'll help out any way that we can Paul." Perry was very concerned. "Where is Barbara right now?"

"She's at home resting. I took Junior to a day camp activity at the recreation center this morning." Paul glanced at his watch. "I've got to run back there and pick him up at four o'clock..."

Perry continued. "The process for guardianship is really quite easy, Paul – if that's what you mean about wanting us to be Godparents. It's simply making an appearance in Court after we fill out the necessary paperwork. If it would make you feel better, we can start on that right away." Perry looked to Della. "Della, would you..."

Della cut him off right away. "I'll start the paperwork right away. I'll arrange for the Court hearing whenever you're ready, Paul..."

"Thanks. That eases my mind a bit. There's just so much to do and so little time… Junior is being enrolled in school for the Fall and he's got to be scheduled for a check up with a doctor for shots and his overall health. Barbara and I have been talking about her medical care as the cancer progresses, and… and..." Paul broke down. "And funeral arrangements!"

At this point Perry got up and walked around the desk to stand near Paul.

"We'll do everything we can to help, Paul." He put his hand on Paul's shoulder. "What have you decided about Barbara's medical care? Will she need to be hospitalized or can we arrange for medical care in your home? I've read somewhere that there's a new concept in medical care for the terminally ill called _hospice care_. I'll be more than happy to check into that for you. The main thing is to make Barbara comfortable and also take care of you and Junior."

Paul continued to smoke his cigarette but nodded at Perry's ideas.

"I knew I'd come to the right place to talk about this. Those are things we haven't even thought of. We both just thought she'd have to go into the hospital. I thought about the costs of that and I'll pay anything to make sure she's comfortable."

"I'd be more than happy to pay for around the clock medical care for her in your home. As a matter of fact, I _insist_ on arranging for the best care possible."

Della had another idea.

"Perry? We'll be moved in to the house in Malibu by the first of the month. We can easily turn the area that we were considering for an office into a temporary living space with plenty of room for a hospital bed – if needed." She turned to Paul. "There's a private entrance to that area and plenty of room for your whole family if you want. There are no stairs to climb since it's all on one level. I'm only suggesting this if you don't think your apartment is large enough."

Perry chimed in again.

"I think that's a great idea, Della. We'll be glad to offer you the space, Paul. Do you want to look at the area before you make any decisions?"

"I really like the idea of keeping her out of a hospital or nursing home. I better discuss this with Barbara." Paul leaned forward and crushed out his cigarette in the ash tray on Perry's desk. "I better get back home. I need to stop at the pharmacy on my way home."

Della wanted to help out.

"Paul, why don't you let me do that for you? Then I can stop by your place and talk with Barbara also. There's probably a lot more that I can do for all of you."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Home of Perry and Della, Malibu, CA 1:45pm Tuesday, 16 August 1966**

They were all gathered at Barbara's bedside when the medical doctor attending to Barbara Drake removed his stethoscope from her chest and solemnly informed them that Barbara had passed away. Paul sat at Barbara's side holding her hand and leaned over her still body quietly sobbing. Della pulled Junior onto her lap and held him close, her head bent down next to his. As Junior wiped away a few stray tears, Della whispered to him over and over that it was okay. Perry stood behind Della lightly gripping her shoulders as he watched the doctor and attending nurse back out of the room.

It was several minutes before Paul composed himself enough to speak.

"She's gone… She's really gone..." He turned around and reached for Junior and Della released him right away. "Come here, son. It's okay."

Junior walked over to Paul and Paul pulled him up on his lap. Perry and Della stepped back to give them some privacy.

"We have to say goodbye to your Mom now… She loved you very much you know… And now we need to be strong for her and remember what a good person she was..."

Junior nodded and sniffled. "Okay Dad. I can be strong like you..."

Perry released Della from their embrace and walked over to the doctor and nurse standing by in the next room.

"What happens now, Doctor?"

"I'll make my notification to the coroner's office. It might take some time for them to get here but once they do, they'll release her to the funeral home for transport. This shouldn't take long since I was in attendance at the time of death. Just let me know when Mister Drake is ready for me to make the call."

The rest of the week they were all busy getting ready for the funeral of Barbara Drake. Perry had closed the law office after hours on Friday the 12th knowing that Barbara was slowly fading away more each day, so the office would remained closed until after the funeral. The service was planned for Saturday the 20th with a burial immediately afterwards.

Aside from everyone associated with Perry's Law Office, over two hundred other people paid their respects, including many from the District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Police Department. Over the years they all had contact with Paul Drake in one way or another and were all proud to consider him a friend and offer their condolences.

As the crowd dispersed from the cemetery burial site, Perry and Della lingered in the area as Paul and Junior privately said their last goodbyes by placing roses on the casket. They turned to leave and walked over to Perry and Della.

After they all embraced each other individually, Junior took a hold of Della's hand.

"My Mom's in heaven now. Will you be my new Mom now, Della?"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 3:45pm Friday, 3 June 1983**

"You were all so very close. It must have been very difficult for Paul Drake – uh Senior, to adjust to life without his wife and having to raise his son by himself."

Della nodded in agreement with Doctor McRae's statement.

"But he really _wasn't_ alone. Like you said, Perry, Paul, Junior, and I _were_ very close. We worked out schedules to make sure Junior was taken care of."

"How so?"

Della looked towards the ceiling and thought it over before she replied.

"Well Junior started school about a week or two after the funeral. Paul spoke with the school principal and Junior's teacher about what had happened. Naturally Perry and I helped out when we could with Junior – you know picking him up at school when needed, or even keeping Junior with us overnight if Paul was working. Paul hired a sitter for the days when Junior was not in school or if Perry and I were unavailable due to our work."

Della chuckled and continued.

"Those boys really bonded over the years. I always tried to arrange Perry's schedule so that they could all take off for long weekends of fishing or camping. There were even a few times that they insisted that I come along! Junior just loved making me hot dogs or toasting marshmallows over the campfire. He really like making those marshmallow cookies – I forget what they're called."

"S'mores? The graham crackers with chocolate and marshmallows inside?"

"Yes, that's right! They're called _s'mores_! Junior was really proud of learning how to make them when he became a Cub Scout! When Paul saw how much he enjoyed fishing and camping, he got him into the Cub Scouts. Of course along that line of thinking, Paul and Perry were grooming Junior to someday go along _hunting_ with them. Junior couldn't wait to be old enough to enroll in hunting classes. He'd come back from a fishing trip or camping trip and tell me how many years and days he had left before he could go hunting."

Doctor McRae continued to observe Della's joy as she recalled Junior's younger years.

Suddenly Della seemed sad and looked down at her hands clasped together on her lap.

"I gather that you didn't approve of Junior going out hunting," Doctor McRae inquired.

"No, that's not it at all. It's just that Junior suffered another tragedy before he was old enough to enroll in those hunting classes..."

Doctor McRae was interested in hearing about what was making Della suddenly seem sad.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Della paused to gather her thoughts and stared straight ahead.

"It started on Valentine's Day 1970..."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Perry and Della's Home, Malibu, CA 5pm Saturday, 14 February 1970**

Della walked in their home office area to speak with Perry who was busy reading notes on a case they were currently working on. She walked up behind him and leaned over him from behind and kissed his cheek. Perry reached back for her arms and pulled them down around his chest.

"Is that a hint that I need to put this case away for the day so we can get ready to go out to dinner?"

Della kissed his cheek again.

"Yes that's a hint. I just spoke to the sitter and she'll be here to watch Junior in an hour. He's still watching a television program. Have you heard anything from Paul?"

"No, not yet. He was going to try and call from Palm Springs over an hour ago. If he doesn't call soon, I'm sure he'll be calling for Junior before he settles in for the night..."

"Wonderful. Well I'm going to go and get dressed for dinner. I already put your suit out for you, so hurry up with what you're doing. I don't want to be late for our Valentine's Day dinner..." She kissed his cheek again and stood up.

The phone rang and as Della tried to grab it to answer it, Perry lightly tapped her hand.

"I'll get this. You go and get ready for dinner."

Perry answered the phone on the second ring while Della stood by to hear who was calling.

"Hello? Yes, this is Perry Mason… Who...? What...?! Say that again?"

Perry was suddenly very concerned about the call and reached out for Della to keep her from leaving the room. He grabbed a pencil and slid a notepad in front of him.

"Where is he...? Are you with him right now...? Can I talk to him...? How serious _is_ this...? Hold on a second..."

Perry covered the phone mouthpiece to speak to Della.

"It's about Paul! He's at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. They think he's had a _stroke_!"

Perry got back on the phone.

"I'll tell you what, I'll be there as soon as I can! If there's _any_ change in his condition, call this number right away and ask for Della. That's right, _Della_. I'm leaving here right away… Thank you! Goodbye."

Perry made it to Paul's hospital room by eight o'clock that night. Paul was sedated and resting peacefully when Perry spoke to the attending physician at Paul's bedside.

"Has he said anything? Has he even been conscious at all?"

"According to the man who was with him at the time of the event, he started slurring his words, grabbed his forehead and collapsed. Thankfully that man called out for help right away and there was a doctor at his side within a minute..."

"What's the prognosis?"

"We suspect a hemorrhagic stroke but we're waiting for a radiologist to view x-rays of his head. This might take some time. I'll be honest, his condition is very serious."

"Do you mind if I ask if caring for a stroke patient is _your_ medical _specialty_?"

The doctor was not at all offended by Perry's question.

"I'm the hospital's on call neurologist, Mister Mason. I was called in by the emergency room physicians. I will be consulting with a vascular neurologist also. I've treated many stroke patients, but we have a _team_ of physicians who work on each case – especially serious cases like this."

"Thank you, Doctor. I only want the finest help available for my best friend here."

"I understand completely, Mister Mason. We have a vast network of stroke specialists that will be involved in Mister Drake's care."

"Thanks. If you don't mind, Doctor, I'd like to remain with him for now. I want to be here when he comes to."

"That's not a problem at all Mister Mason..." The doctor needed to excuse himself momentarily. "I will be back shortly. I'll be making a call to another member of our care team and keep you advised. If you need to make any notifications or other calls, the phone on the table there is available. For long-distance calls, please use the hospital operator by dialing '9'."

Perry walked back to Paul's bedside and pulled over a chair to sit down beside him. He put his hand on Paul's shoulder. He looked at all the medical equipment hooked up to him and listened to the sounds made by the machines before he spoke.

"We'll get you through this, Paul. You just rest right now and let us take care of you."

Perry got on the phone and contacted the hospital operator to make a call to Della.

Della answered his call on the first ring.

"How is he Perry?"

"It's a serious stroke, Della. He's sedated and resting. He's getting good care right now. They'll know more after a few more tests. How's Junior?"

"He's fine. He's playing a board game with the sitter. I kept her around for a while in case I would need to leave at all. Is there anything I can do on this end?"

"I don't think so. I plan to stay here until further notice. We might have to adjust my work schedule through next week though."

"I'll take care of that. Please keep me posted. Give Paul my love..." Della hung up the phone and bit her lower lip recalling how emotional she was when Paul was in the hospital in Los Angeles due to what they _thought_ was a heart attack. After a moment, she regained her composure and went to check on Junior and the sitter.

By the next morning, Paul started to come around. The stroke had severely affected Paul's speech and movement of the right side of his body. When he fully came to, he saw Perry sitting at his bedside and tried to speak.

He could only mumble and furrowed his brow in frustration. Perry was consoling and placed his hand back on his shoulder.

"Hey – take it easy, Paul. You're in no shape to be moving around."

Paul continued to try and move his right arm and speak but could only make moaning sounds. In frustration he just tightly closed his eyes.

Perry recognized his exasperation immediately.

"Listen to me Paul. You've suffered a stroke. Things are not going to be normal for you for a while, but the medical attention you're getting here will change that. It will just take time..."

After opening his eyes again to look directly at Perry, Paul raised his left hand and gestured. Perry tried to interpret what Paul was trying to say or do. He tried guessing.

"I know you're trying to tell me something..."

Paul moved his arm around and closed his hand like he was holding something.

"Do you want to eat something? Or _hold_ something?"

Then it hit him.

"You want to _write_ something! Is that right?"

Paul began nodding his head. Perry searched the table by the bed and found a pencil and paper handing it to Paul right away.

Paul began trying to write and handed his scribbled note to Perry who tried to decipher Paul's scribbles.

After a moment, Perry thought he had it figured out.

"You want to know if Junior is okay?"

Paul nodded again.

"Junior is fine. He's with Della. We haven't told him that you're in the hospital yet. We can do that later when we know more about when we'll be able to get you out of here. Oh – and Della sends her love."

Paul relaxed a bit and just stared at the ceiling.

Perry wanted to assure Paul that he was getting good care but it would take some time to be able to return to Los Angeles.

"You just need to rest and listen to your doctors. They're planning some therapy for you right away and when you show some improvement after that, we'll bring you home."

In the days that followed, Paul began to respond to treatment in the hospital and was able to communicate better with Perry and his medical team. Perry remained with Paul for the first week, then had to return to Los Angeles when Paul showed enough improvement to be left in the capable hands of the medical staff.

By the last part of February Perry, Della, and Junior all returned to Palm Springs for a visit. Being able to see Junior really gave Paul a boost. Although his speech was still slurred and his right side mostly paralyzed, Paul could still interact with his son and promised that he would work hard to get better soon so he could go back home with him.

Paul was bedridden for his entire treatment and his progress took a major downturn on the first of March when Perry, Della, and Junior were getting ready to return to Los Angeles. While he was still able to communicate clearly, Paul wanted to talk with Perry alone. Della and Junior had already left the room to get something for Junior to eat in the cafeteria when Paul reached out to get Perry's attention.

Paul slowly slurred his words to Perry. "Please take care of Junior for me, Perry. He's all I have left in this world. My estate papers are all in order… _Promise_ me that you'll always take care of my boy!"

Perry reached for Paul's left hand and gave it a strong grip.

"Don't talk like that, Paul. You'll get out of here eventually so that you and Junior can go on living a long, good life back in LA. Della and I will _always_ be here for you and Junior. That I can _promise_!"

Later that day, Paul developed pneumonia and had to be intubated. Over the next few days his condition weakened. Paul peacefully passed away on the 6th of March with his son and dear friends Perry and Della at his side.

On Friday the 13th of March 1970, Paul Drake was buried with full military honors next to his wife Barbara Drake at a cemetery in Los Angeles. At the burial service, Junior was seated between Perry and Della under a canopy facing the flag-covered casket. Over three hundred other mourners stood nearby as the chaplain finished the service.

As the military honor guard stepped up to the casket, Perry, Della and Junior stood up. The honor guard commander brought his detail to attention with loud, sharp commands.

"Detail! Attention! Present arms!"

The rifle squad was assembled off to the side of the burial site. Under the direction of the rifle squad commander's orders, they immediately readied their rifles for the traditional 21-gun salute.

"Ready! Aim! Fire!" "Ready! Aim! Fire!" "Ready! Aim! Fire!"

With her right hand over her heart and tears flowing freely from her eyes, Della held tight to Junior who along with Perry, had raised his right hand to his brow with a sharp salute. Perry and Junior remained very still as the shots were fired but Della flinched for each volley of shots.

Off in the distance, a bugler began playing "Taps" and at the conclusion of "Taps", the honor guard commander shouted, "Order Arms!" Junior and Perry slowly dropped their salute.

After Perry, Della, and Junior were seated, the honor guard removed the flag from Paul's casket and began sharply folding the flag into the customary triangle shape. When they finished, the commander of the honor guard presented the flag to Junior.

"On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Navy, and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your Father's honorable and faithful service."

Junior bowed down, accepted the flag, and immediately held it to his chest. Della and Perry embraced him from both sides as he sobbed.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4:15pm 3 June 1983**

Della dabbed at the tears in her eyes as she finished the story of Paul Drake's death. Doctor McRae was very sympathetic.

"This has been a very emotional session for you today, Della." She got up from her chair and went to get Della a glass of water.

"Here, drink some water..."

Della accepted the glass of water and began to regain her composure.

"Well now you know how I became more like a mother to Junior. Perry and I have been the only parents he remembers mostly. That poor kid had a rough childhood losing both of his biological parents by the time he was ten years old..."

Doctor McRae's receptionist suddenly interrupted their conversation.

"Doctor McRae – I'm so sorry to interrupt! We've had an incident in the waiting room! An unscheduled client showed up and passed out! There's help on the way. I think this is a drug overdose situation!"

Doctor McRae immediately excused herself.

"Please wait right here, Della. Let me see what's going on."

With Doctor McRae out of the room, Della took a few moments to wipe the tears from her eyes. She slowly regained her composure before Doctor McRae returned. When Doctor McRae came back into the office, Della suggested that they end the session before Doctor McRae could say anything further.

"I think we need to take a break, Connie. You have a crisis on your hands and I think that I need to go home and relax."

"Are you sure Della? I'm so sorry for this distraction. Things are under control out there in the waiting room. I'm more worried about _you_ right now."

"Yes, I'm sure, Connie. I'm okay."

Doctor McRae went over to her desk and grabbed a business card. She wrote her home phone number on the card and handed it to Della.

"Please take this. It's my home phone number. I really want you to call – anytime – especially if you need to talk anymore tonight. This has been a very heart-rending day for you. I don't like to see you leaving here unless I know you're okay."

Della took the card and placed it in her purse.

"Thank you, but I _really_ am fine… I'm just fine."

 **TBC**

Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience waiting for each chapter to be posted. I appreciate all of your comments.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home, 5pm Friday, 3 June 1983**

After unlocking the front door, an emotionally drained Della walked into her house. She grabbed her mail on the way in, and that large stack of mail reminded her that she forgot to bring in her mail for the past couple of days. She placed the mail on her kitchen counter and thought that she'd take her mind off of the overwhelming therapy session by going out to water her garden. Her long work hours that week caused her to neglect her plants and she really needed to take care of them right away.

The growl in her stomach also reminded her that she would need to fix something for dinner. Before she went out to take care of her neglected garden, she brought out the dry ingredients to make Chicken Alfredo after she was done in the yard. She changed her clothes putting on a light blouse and a pair of capri pants. By her back door she found a pair of sneakers to put on her feet and went outside.

While out with a long hose watering plants in her back yard, Della thought back on her therapy session with Doctor McRae. Reliving the death of not only Barbara Drake, but also Paul's death brought on more tears to her eyes. She couldn't believe that it had already been thirteen years since Junior lost his father. After wiping away the tears with her gardening gloves, she slowly shook her head and yanked on the water hose to further move on to more plants towards the fence along the side of her house.

Della thought back to the conversation with Doctor McRae and recalled being asked by her what she thought that Perry was thinking about their situation. She had told Doctor McRae that she really didn't care what Perry was thinking or doing, but she knew deep down inside that she really did care – in a way. She was hurt and embarrassed by what she saw in Carmel and right now thinking about how Perry was doing was not a concern for her. She just wanted to keep her mind on getting advice for dealing with this situation for her own benefit and was getting that help by talking about it with Doctor McRae.

Della adjusted the hose again and stopped to look towards the front of her next door neighbor's house when she noticed a car parked in front. She found it sort of odd since she did not recognize the car as belonging to the neighbors. Looking closer at the vehicle, she noticed a man sitting in the front seat behind the steering wheel looking towards her house. She shrugged it off and continued watering her plants when she noticed another car pull up and park in front of the vehicle with the man in it.

Right away, the male driver of the second vehicle got out and approached the driver of the first vehicle. After the men talked for a minute, the driver of the first car drove away and Della took a closer look at the man walking back to his car. He was also looking towards her house as he made it back to his car. That's when Della recognized Frank Faulkner.

" _What in the world_ ", Della thought to herself as she turned off the water for the hose. Then it hit her right away. The only reason Frank Faulkner would be hanging out by her house is if Perry Mason had sent him! She continued watching him as he got back inside his car. It was obvious to her that he was not going to come up to her door, so he was probably only there to watch her.

A little bothered by this, Della walked out of her back gate, around the neighbor's house, and casually walked up behind Frank's car to the passenger side of the vehicle. Frank was facing forward and about to bring a cup of coffee up to his mouth when Della pounded on the car's passenger side window. Frank jumped and spilled his coffee down the front of his shirt and pants.

Della walked around to the driver's side, almost giggling at Frank's reaction.

"Frank Faulkner! For such an experienced Private Detective, you sure don't take enough precaution to let the subject of your surveillance sneak up on you!"

While Frank took out a handkerchief to soak up the coffee on his shirt, he looked up semi-frowning at Della knowing that he'd been caught. He would either have to fabricate a good story or come clean about his reason for being there. Thinking quickly, he decided that a few half-truths just might get him out of this mess.

"Well, if it isn't Della Street! What brings _you_ out into this area? Are you visiting someone nearby?"

Della's arched brow aimed at Frank indicated to him that she wasn't going to be easy to convince that he just happened to run into her in the area. She opened the driver's door of his car to let him get out of the car and continue their talk.

"You can't convince me that you just _happened_ to be out here spying on someone other than me, Frank. And you're really losing your touch when you can allow me to sneak up on you like that."

She sighed and took his handkerchief out of his hand to try and soak up more of the coffee on the front of his shirt. "Come on inside. I can put some stain remover and rinse out those coffee spots before it ruins your shirt."

"That's really not necessary, Della..."

"Oh just come on, Frank!"

Frank shrugged his shoulders and followed her to her front door.

Once inside Della's home, she began to offer Frank one of Tom Smith's polo shirts to wear so she could rinse out his shirt. She walked to a hallway closet and removed the shirt to hand it to Frank.

"Here. If you want to take off your shirt, you can put this on while I wash out your shirt. There isn't much other clothing to choose from here."

"Thanks, but I'll be okay, Della. This is an old shirt anyway. It's just coffee..."

Della persisted and put the polo shirt in his hand. "Come on! Off with the shirt. This won't take long. And we can have a nice chat while I clean your shirt."

Frank finally gave in and began unbuttoning his shirt. "You'll never change, Della. Always wanting to take care of someone." He removed his shirt and handed it to her.

"Let's go in the kitchen. I'm going to fix a simple Chicken Alfredo recipe for my dinner. After I rinse your shirt, I can put it in the clothes dryer while we eat and talk… Can I get you something to drink? I have wine and coffee. I haven't had time to really set up a liquor stockpile yet."

Frank finished putting on the polo shirt and followed her into the kitchen to sit on a stool at the kitchen counter.

"No thanks. I'm good for right now… Look, Della. I can explain why I'm in the neighborhood."

"I'm assuming you were sent here by Perry to _spy_ on me..."

Frank nodded and sighed.

"I don't like this any more than you, but yes he sent me here – but not to _spy_ on you. He wants to make sure that you're safe… I don't really know much about why you two aren't speaking to each other, but he really only wants to be sure that you're okay."

"Well you can report back that I'm safe and sound..." Della finished rinsing the shirt and walked to the laundry room to put the shirt in the clothes dryer.

Frank wanted to dig for a little more information and spoke up so that she could hear him while she was in the laundry room.

"This is a nice place you've got here, Della. Do you live here alone?"

Della came back into the kitchen area.

"What makes you think there's anyone else here?"

Frank patted down the front of his shirt.

"This men's polo shirt is way too big for you, and way too small for someone like Perry. I already know that the house is owned by some fellow named Thomas Smith."

Della raised her brow. "You've really done your research… Well if you really need to know, I live here alone. I'm renting this place from a co-worker named Thomas Smith who's currently working in Belgium. He's a computer software engineer for Arthur Gordon Industries. He'll be overseas at least until the end of the year."

Della walked over to the refrigerator and began bringing out more ingredients for dinner. "I suppose you'll have to report that back to Perry also..."

"Not really… But I feel sort of odd here, Della. Like I'm in the middle of a tug of war game or something..."

"I'm sorry, Frank. You're right. This isn't your fault. This is all really only between me and Perry. I just can't believe he sent you out to check on me."

"Well to be honest with you, I've really only reported that you're okay and everything. I also told him that you were living here now."

"And just how did you find all of this out?" Della paused then answered her own question. "Oh, I suppose you just _followed_ me here from work."

"You guessed it." Now Frank paused for a moment before continuing. "I also trailed you to the medical arts building in Encino. Are you feeling okay, Della? _That_ was concerning to me..."

Della did not want Frank to know why she was going to the medical arts building at all and became a little nervous.

"You followed me _into_ the medical arts building?"

"Not _into_ it, Della… You lost me when you got inside. You were too fast for me. I'm getting too old for this cloak and dagger type of work..."

Della was relieved that he didn't see her go into Doctor McRae's office. To slightly mislead Frank into giving away the _real_ reason she was in the building, she used a type of Perry's old ways to twist the facts.

"Well, you don't need to worry about my trips to that place, Frank. I'm visiting a friend there. She works in the building. I'm not sick or anything like that if that's what you were thinking."

"Well I _was_ a little worried, but I'm not anymore because you look fine to me. I did report that to Perry and he seemed a little confused because your normal medical clinic is in Tarzana."

"Ha! Perry needs to be concerned more about _his_ health rather than _mine_!" Della continued fixing the dinner.

"I truly believe that he's really worried about you, Della. He only called me when he was here in the LA area looking for you and had no idea where you were. It was hard for him to even admit that you two had what he referred to as _a little misunderstanding_..."

"A _little_ misunderstanding? Ha! That's an understatement!" Della then thought that she should not go any further into the reason that she left Perry so she began to change the subject.

"Well I'm glad that I found you watching my place tonight. This is going to stop now… So how late does your shift go tonight? Who was going to come and sit outside of my house later?"

"We've scaled back our uh, _surveillance_ hours a lot lately… I was only going to hang out here until your lights were out for the night. There's another man that's scheduled to be here by sunrise..."

Still standing at the stove, Della finished combining the chicken cubes, mushrooms and vegetables into the Alfredo sauce then loaded the linguini into a pot of boiling water on the other burner.

"Why don't you call your man and tell him that you won't need him in the morning? I'm really very boring to watch, Frank. I'm planning to work in my garden tomorrow and clean the house. After that, I plan to go grocery shopping. Is there anything else that Perry needs to know?"

Frank smiled sheepishly before answering. "I'm sorry, Della. I really feel bad about all of this – especially that you and Perry are not speaking to each other right now. We've been friends a long time and I'm not really comfortable being in this spot…"

"I know that, Frank. I'm just sorry that Perry needed to involve you, that's all."

She handed two plates and silverware to Frank.

"Why don't you set the table for dinner? Dinner is almost ready. And if you look at the wine rack in the dining room, maybe you can choose a nice bottle of wine for our dinner. I don't think Perry will mind paying you to dine and drink with the enemy tonight will he?"

Frank lightly chuckled.

"If you're the enemy Della, then this is the easiest and friendliest surveillance job I've ever had!"

After eating dinner and putting on his clean shirt Frank Faulkner began to make his exit. He offered to help clean up the dishes, but Della insisted that he should just take off for the rest of the night – and charge Perry for the full hours scheduled. He waited at the door before walking out.

"Thanks for dinner and the conversation, Della. You know that I'll have to report _something_ back to Perry. I think that I'll just try to convince him that you're okay and talk him out of keeping this case active..."

"Thanks, Frank. I trust your judgement." She suddenly thought that she should exchange phone numbers with him in case they really needed to talk some more.

"Wait – just a minute, Frank." She took a notepad and pen off of a table near her recliner in the living room. "Here's my phone number if you need to give me any updates. But please do not give this number to Perry..."

"Sure thing Della." Frank reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his business card. "And here's my number if you need me… I really hope you two work this out..."

Frank Faulkner returned to his office after leaving Della's place and instead of calling Perry to give his updates, he decided to wait a while. He wanted more time to come up with a way to convince Perry to give up the constant observation of Della's activities. Frank also wanted some more time to figure out a way to get Perry and Della back together – in the memory of his good friend and former boss, Paul Drake.

It was nearly eight-thirty by the time Della finished cleaning up the kitchen and drying the dishes. She was pretty proud of the way her dinner turned out. It was a recipe that she watched Perry prepare many years ago – only she modified it by using a _jar_ of Alfredo sauce instead of making it from scratch like Perry would do. As she wiped off the kitchen counter she sighed thinking back about Perry and his cooking skills. Those thoughts dropped from her mind as she noticed the pile of unopened mail on the counter top. _"That can wait until tomorrow. I'm too tired to deal with anything else tonight_ ," she thought to herself.

Della turned out the kitchen lights and brought the last drops of the dinner wine in her glass into the living room. After turning on the lamp by her recliner chair, she put her feet up and picked up the mystery novel that was sitting on the table next to her chair. She dozed off before she even finished reading a full chapter in the book.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 10am Saturday, 4 June 1983**

Gently massaging the kink in her neck from spending half of the night before sleeping in her recliner, Della brought the stack of unopened mail over to her dining room table. She sat down and sorted through the mail by placing bills in one stack, with junk mail in another. An envelope without a return address at the bottom of the pile caught her attention. It was a simple letter-sized envelope postmarked " _San Francisco_ ". She thought nothing more of it and put it on the bottom of the stack of bills to open last.

The checks were written for her bills and stuffed into the envelopes to mail for later in the day when she would go to the grocery store. She took the envelope with the San Francisco postmark and glanced at the writing on the envelope. Suddenly recognizing the handwriting as Perry's, her heart rate skyrocketed from fright and her chin began to quiver. She dropped the envelope right away as if it were a hot potato. Backing away from the table she had to let her heart rate return to normal before she picked up the envelope again. Thinking to herself, " _Why are you so shook up about this? Just open it and get it over with_!"

Della cautiously picked up the envelope again and slid the letter opener along the envelope seam to open it and brought out the contents. She unfolded the one-page letter and began reading it.

" _Della, I really need to speak to you_ _and_ _explain exactly what happened in Carmel._ _Will you please call me? Until we talk to each other about this, nothing will be resolved. I love you and I hope we can straighten this out soon, but we can't_ _begin to_ _fix this until we talk. Please call me. Love, Perry_."

She tossed the letter onto the table and sat back holding the palm of her hand to her cheek while mildly biting her lower lip. The first thought that came to her mind was that calling him was not going to erase the vision stuck in her mind of a naked woman climbing out of their hot tub while calling out for Perry. Her next thought was that by calling him, he's already had a few weeks to come up with some flimsy explanation then would try to convince her of his innocence and her overreaction. " _No_ ," she thought out loud, then silently added, " _Calling him will only start an argument and he will try to manipulate me into_ _believing that whatever he was doing with that woman was misunderstood by me._ "

Della took another look at the letter and put it back in the envelope that it came in. She wanted to get her grocery shopping done and calling Perry was not a priority for her for now.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 10am Saturday, 4 June 1983**

Sipping on his second cup of coffee that morning, Perry was sitting at his kitchen counter sorting through his mail and paying his bills. With his paperwork all in order, he looked over to several crumpled sheets of paper on which he had written several drafts for the letter he had written to Della with Archbishop Stefan Corro the week before.

A few of the drafts were several pages long as he poured his heart out to her begging to reconcile. After writing so many rough outlines of what he wanted to say to her, he finally just settled on a one page note simply asking for her to call him. He frowned just thinking that the one page note probably did not mean anything to Della since she should have received it earlier in the week. It was apparent to him that she probably was not going to call. Now he needed to figure out another plan and would have a lot of free time all weekend to work on another strategy. Deep in thought, he jumped as his phone rang.

Fumbling with the phone receiver, he finally put it to his ear and answered. Hoping that it was Della of course, he wasn't too disappointed to hear Frank Faulkner calling.

"I have a couple of updates for you, Perry. Do you have a minute?"

"I have all the time in the world lately, Frank..."

"Okay… Two things – I have your background information on Velma Thomas and more information about Della. Which do you want to hear first?"

Perry didn't hesitate in his reply.

"How's Della? Is she okay?"

"I have to admit here Perry – I blew it. She caught me hanging out in front of her house. But I _did_ actually talk with her – and for quite a while. She guessed that I was sent there by you even though I tried to convince her I was in the area and just happened to run into her. Obviously she didn't buy that..."

"So what happened? Did she say anything about the letter that I wrote to her?"

"Letter? She didn't say anything about a letter..."

"Damn… Well, what else can you tell me?"

"You'll be relieved to know she's living there alone. She's renting the place from a co-worker who's overseas until the end of the year. Oh – and even more important – she's not sick or anything – you know – for going to that medical building. She's just visiting a friend who works there..."

Perry rubbed his face while listening to Faulkner's report before he quietly replied.

"I see… I suppose that's all good news, Frank. What else did she say?"

Frank paused a moment to figure out a way to get Perry to drop any further surveillance of Della.

"She didn't really have a lot to say about anything, Perry… Look, now that she found me outside of her place, it's no use to follow her around anymore. She basically told me to report back to you that you don't need to worry about her at all… So what do you think, Perry? Do I still try to watch her or what?"

"You don't need to follow her around anymore Frank," Perry replied glumly.

"I'm sorry I screwed this up, Perry."

"Don't worry about it, Frank. She was eventually bound to find you or one of your men following her around… So what's the story on this Velma Thomas?"

Frank shuffled some papers in front of him before replying.

"I'll have a full written report that I can send to you, but everything I've found out so far is not good. She's wanted by the Feds on several charges related to fraud. Word has it that she's about to be indicted Federally along with a few associates from RKT Partners for that fraud. She's truly a con artist in various business dealings..."

"You say that she's _wanted_ by the Feds?"

"Right. The FBI was on her trail, but she hasn't been seen in over a week. As soon as I can get to the post office, I'll mail you the full report..."

Perry thought it over and decided that he didn't want the written report at all.

"That's okay, Frank. I won't need anything in writing… Let's just pretend I never asked you to check into her background..." He had a bad feeling that knowing anything more about Velma Thomas was not going to sit well with him. Not only did his association with her cause him to split up with Della, but now he might even be connected with her situation involving the Feds.

"Okay, Perry. I understand. If anyone asks, I've never heard of any Velma Thomas..."

After finishing his conversation with Frank Faulkner, Perry went back to thinking of another way to see Della in person. His thoughts were interrupted by another phone call. Again hoping it was Della calling, Perry anxiously answered the phone. It was the Chief Justice of the Appeals Court calling.

"We've had a unique situation come up, Perry. We need to reassign a justice to the Appeals Court in Portland due to a serious illness of one of the justices there. After our conversation about excluding you from the case pending on RKT Partners, and the reasons surrounding that exclusion, I think you're the man for this temporary assignment."

"Temporary? _How_ temporary?"

"As it looks right now, three months..."

Perry was a little reluctant to go, but ended up accepting the temporary assignment effective the week of June 13th. A change of scenery might do him some good.

After his call with the Chief Justice, Perry thought to himself, " _Can this day get any worse_?" Little did he know at the time that his day really _was_ going to get a little worse.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas CA, Della's Home 5pm Saturday, 4 June 1983**

Della stayed busy all day with her house cleaning chores and grocery shopping, but her thoughts always drifted back to Perry's letter. She hemmed and hawed about it long enough and finally decided she was going to call Perry. After taking a deep breath, she sat back in her recliner chair, picked up the phone, and punched in Perry's home phone number.

Perry rushed to his phone in the living room and answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"I got your letter..."

"Della?" He nervously sat down in his easy chair. "I, uh, I _wondered_ if you would call… I'm glad that you did!"

Della remained silent on the other end of the phone line. Perry wondered if she was still on the line.

"Della? Are you still there?"

After rolling her eyes and sighing, Della finally said something.

"You asked me to call. I'm calling… And listening..."

"Yes you _are_ calling. And thank you… I'm so sorry about all of this… What you walked in on in Carmel wasn't – uh _supposed_ to be happening… I made a big mistake bringing that woman to Carmel, but it was innocently planned as an opportunity to work on a charity fundraiser with her. She – uh just got carried away..." Perry was stumbling through his lame explanation and knew that Della wasn't going to stand for much more, but he continued anyway.

"Look, Della. I was _set up_ by that woman. I realized too late that she was not who she was representing herself to be. It's over with her. You've got to believe me..." Perry waited for Della to say something but she remained silent.

"Talk to me, Della. Please..."

"What do you _want_ me to say, Perry?"

Perry rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I want you to tell me what you think we can do to work this out…"

"What is there to work out? _Innocent_ situation or not, you made a choice to climb into our hot tub with a naked woman so you'll just have to live with the consequences of what you perceive as your disgusting _innocent_ behavior. I know _I'm_ doing just fine..."

"Well I'm not doing fine, Della. Won't you please meet with me – face-to-face? I can explain _everything_..."

"Everything? Will that explanation include why you hired Frank Faulkner to follow me around like I was one of your clients or other no-good suspects in your Court cases?"

"Oh, right... Frank… Yes I can explain that, too. I'll tell you right now that when I couldn't find you that I was really worried about you. I needed to know that you were safe..."

"Ha! Why wouldn't I be safe? If you're the one being ' _set up_ ' by a cunning woman, maybe you should hire Frank to protect _you_! I can't believe you hired someone we both know very well to do your dirty work for you!"

Perry lowered his voice with to sheepishly reply.

"I didn't know what else to do… Since you ran out on me in Carmel, I've been thinking about you all the time. I want to work this out… I really miss you, Della!"

After another moment of silence, Della felt that she'd heard enough. They weren't going to resolve this over the phone and she had no desire to see him in person.

"Well for the record, Perry, I'm doing just fine without worrying about you. Furthermore, you have mail piling up at _your_ Sherman Oaks condo... And don't forget to pay the utilities for the condo and _your_ home in Carmel because I'm not writing checks for them anymore. You should also know that the property taxes are due for both places by November first. Goodbye Perry!"

With a lump in her throat, Della abruptly hung up the phone and her hands began to shake. She put her hands up to her face and a moment later she began to sob. With tears streaming from her eyes, she reached for her purse and dug to the bottom of it to search for Doctor Connie McRae's business card.

 **TBC**

Thanks again for your patience as I post these chapters with slight delays between each segment. Real life situations always seem to come up at an inopportune time. I appreciate your comments anyway and I thank you for reading.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 6:30pm Saturday, 4 June 1983**

For over an hour Della struggled to regain some composure before she picked up her phone and punched in the home phone number for Doctor Connie McRae. She had spent the last hour pacing around her house and crying while contemplating a call to Doctor McRae. The phone was answered after just two rings.

"Hello?"

"Connie? It's Della..." Della tried to not sound so distressed.

"Hi Della. I had a feeling that you'd be calling at some point this weekend. That was a very emotional session on Friday and I'm sorry it ended so unexpectedly… What can I help you with now?"

"I'm not sure, Connie… I, uh, _spoke_ with him..."

"Oh? In person?"

"No, over the phone." Della collected herself but began talking faster. "You see he mailed me a letter. I opened the letter this morning... It was a short note asking me to call him. I wasn't going to call, but I kept thinking about it all day. I thought that maybe I could just get this over with so I called him a little while ago..."

"And how did the call turn out?"

Della's chin began to quiver as she tried to talk some more about the call.

"Not very well, Connie…" As tears came to her eyes, she tried to continue. "I wasn't very kind to him at all…" She began to cry.

"You're obviously very upset from making that call."

As she wiped away tears with a handkerchief, Della tried to reply between sobs.

"I hate to do this to you… I just didn't know what else to do… I had to talk to someone..."

"You've done the right thing by calling. And I'm here to listen..."

Still wiping away a few tears and feeling a little better, Della continued.

"Thank you. I'm so glad you gave me your number. You probably think I'm really crazy or something for calling you..."

"You're not crazy at all, Della. I'll admit that I don't give out my number to just anyone. My husband went to the Dodgers game with his buddies today so I have plenty of time to listen and work through this with you. We could meet somewhere in person if you want… I really don't mind at all!"

Della was relieved but didn't want to have to meet Doctor McRae face to face.

"That won't be necessary. I think that just by sharing with you the conversation I had with him, you can give me some advice?"

"I'll help you through this, Della. So let's start by going back to the letter and then we can discuss the call..."

"Oh – right! The letter..." Della picked up the letter from the table next to her. "Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Sure..."

Della read the letter out loud.

" _Della, I really need to speak to you_ _and_ _explain exactly what happened in Carmel._ _Will you please call me? Until we talk to each other about this, nothing will be resolved. I love you and I hope we can straighten this out soon, but we can't_ _begin to_ _fix this until we talk. Please call me. Love, Perry_."

Della placed the letter back on the table. "That's all it says, Connie..."

"Hmm. Well I can see _why_ you made the call to him, Della. Like he says in the letter, until you begin talking about this, nothing will be resolved… I think it's in your nature to try to get things figured out and this would have been a way to start doing that. So what happened during the phone call?"

Before replying, Della looked up to collect her thoughts.

"At first I just listened to what _he_ had to say. He was talking about having been ' _set up_ ' by this _other_ woman and that bringing her to our home in Carmel was _innocently_ planned! The more he scrambled to make up excuses, the madder I got."

"What happened next?"

Della wanted to give Doctor McRae the whole story so she thought she should tell her about Frank Faulkner's visit.

"I should back up here a bit – especially to tell you about what happened _yesterday_!"

"Oh, something happened after you left my office?"

"Yes! I confronted the private detective he hired to follow me around! He actually hired an old friend of ours to watch me and report back to him about what I was doing and where I was living! He was parked out in front of my neighbor's house observing my every move!"

Della calmed down a bit before continuing the story of finding Frank Faulkner outside of her home.

"I just couldn't believe he would stoop that low and involve someone who used to work on investigations for us years ago. He was actually one of Paul Drake's operatives… I ended up inviting him inside and we had a bite to eat. He's no longer following me around."

"Did the detective tell you _why_ Perry wanted him to follow you around?"

"Perry told him that he was worried about me – that he wanted to make sure that I was safe..."

"In your call to Perry did you mention that you found and confronted the detective?"

"You bet I did! I was not happy about that at all! Anyway, I sort of started bickering with him and before I slammed the phone down to end the call, I told him that I wouldn't be writing any more checks to pay the bills related to our homes – you know – the condo and the place in Carmel. I've always been the one to handle the household finances in our relationship. He's smart enough to know that's my way of saying I don't want anything to do with things that we own together..."

Doctor McRae paused before saying anything.

"It sounds like you let out a lot of angry emotions during that conversation. What are you feeling now?"

Della looked down and slowly shook her head.

"I feel awful..." Tears welled up in her eyes again and she reached for her handkerchief. "I don't know why I was so cruel to him. Ever since I hung up on him, I've replayed the conversation over and over in my mind. I think that he was caught off guard by my call and was just stumbling along with his feeble excuses so I just laid into him about that. It's so unlike me to stand up to him that way..."

"So you directed a lot of your hurt feelings towards him and didn't give him an opportunity to reply. Is that what's upsetting you right now?"

Della just stared straight ahead trying to think of an answer.

"I'm afraid that if I didn't let him know how angry I am with him, he would just find a way to sweet-talk me into forgiving him and everything will be okay with us. He wanted to meet with me in person to talk about this. I'm not ready to do that..."

"I understand that completely. You really need time to think about that."

Hearing Doctor McRae's reply, Della put it aside and continued to rant.

"It's like he's not taking _any_ blame for this situation at all! Saying that he was ' _set up_ ' by that woman and that his intentions with that woman in Carmel were purely innocent but she got ' _carried away_ ' makes it sound like it's not his fault at all… And it _is_ his fault!" Della sighed. "I've never had to argue with him about little annoyances because I avoid it. He would win any argument anyway, so in the past, I would just drop the subject. But I can't let this go. I can't let him off so easy and it hurts me more that I can't stand up to him about this without shedding tears."

"It's not unusual for someone to have the feelings you are experiencing right now. Much of that is related to mutual trust in a relationship. I think you feel that he's violated that trust."

Like a lightbulb suddenly turning on in her head, Della looked up right away.

"That's it exactly! I can't _trust_ him!" She paused. "Now that I think of it, there have been several other instances over the years where he's challenged our mutual respect for each other..."

"How so?"

"For one thing, his constant flirtations with other women. He's so charismatic, that all women are naturally attracted to him… Oh, I don't know, Connie. Maybe I'm thinking too much into this… I think I've convinced myself that I wasn't _the_ woman in his life. But on the other hand, with all the attention he's given me over the years, I think I _was_ the only woman in his life. I'm just so confused right now. I can't sort this out in my mind when I look back and read too much into those prior incidents with other women."

Doctor McRae calmly listened to Della's tirade about Perry's past. "What are your plans now, Della?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Let me make a few recommendations to you… First of all, if you're available at all on Monday afternoon, please come in and talk to me in the office. I think we should further explore those prior incidents you are thinking about."

"Okay… I can arrange my schedule and do that… What else?"

"Take some time and write down the things that you really want to say to Perry. That will help you to focus when you _do_ talk to him again. It also helps you to clearly think about where you should direct your anger. When the time is right, it's okay for you to call him again and be able to better control what is said by both of you..."

Della liked Doctor McRae's advice.

"I think that's a great idea. I probably made a fool of myself blurting out some things that I didn't mean to say to him… I think that I'll begin working on this tonight..."

Satisfied that Della was doing a little better after their conversation, Connie hung up the phone after Della calmed down a bit. " _I have a feeling there's been some sort of breakthrough_ ," she thought to herself.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 7pm Saturday 4 June 1983**

Perry quickly glanced up at the clock on his living room wall when he heard a knock on his door. " _Who could be here on a Saturday evening and how did they get past the security door without ringing first? Might be the neighbor down the hall_ ," he thought to himself as he looked out the peep hole on the door. He saw two men in dark colored business attire at his door and partially opened the door.

"Justice Perry Mason?"

"Yes?"

The two men both displayed identification cards and badges.

"I'm Agent Conway and he's Agent Ryker with the FBI. May we come in?"

Perry cleared the lump in his throat and opened the door all the way gesturing for them to enter.

"I've sort of been expecting a visit from you, but I thought it would be in my office… Come in and have a seat..."

The FBI Agents found seats in Perry's living room and Agent Conway got right to the point.

"If you were expecting a visit from us, what do you think that we're here for?"

Perry sat down in his easy chair and wanted to stop tip-toeing around the subject, so he got right to the crux of the matter.

"I recently learned that you're looking for Miss Velma Thomas. Apparently she's under investigation by your office for some fraudulent matters with her company, RKT Partners. I've very recently become acquainted with her."

"How did you come across that information about the investigation involving her?"

"RKT Partners has an upcoming appeal before the Court. My panel was scheduled to hear that appeal soon, but my panel has been removed from that particular case."

"Why was your panel removed?"

"Look gentlemen, I'll save you a lot of time and questions by telling you what I know of Miss Velma Thomas. When my office learned of her upcoming indictment, _I_ was the one who made our Chief Justice aware that she had approached me under false pretenses to gain an upper hand in the appeals process. She did that by misrepresenting herself as some children's cancer charity administrator and wanted to involve me as a keynote speaker for their upcoming fundraiser. When I learned that she was not who she was portraying herself to be, I put two and two together and stopped all contact with her."

"You sound a little defensive, Your Honor..."

With ire in his big blue eyes, Perry momentarily glared at Agent Conway before he replied.

"I don't need to defend _any_ of my actions, Agent Conway. Let me tell you how she even conned her way into meeting with me in the first place. One afternoon she barged into a meeting that was concluding in my office with other executives from RKT Partners. Those other executives never indicated to me or my law clerk that they even _knew_ who she was. On the side, she then approached me with what I thought was a legitimate fundraising cause and we met over dinner that evening to discuss her fundraiser. Later, when I learned that she was actually a high ranking executive of RKT Partners, I had to find out a little more about her background. When I uncovered the information about the Feds investigating her, I stopped all contact with her. She tried to speak to me as I entered the Bohemian Club one night recently and I told her to go away. I haven't seen or heard from her since..." Perry was hoping that his explanation would get these Agents to back off.

"Were you aware that the charity she was associating herself with removed her from their board of directors six months ago for improperly handling financial matters?"

"No, I was not aware of that, but like I said, once I found out that she was misrepresenting herself to me, I stopped all contact with her."

The Agents looked at each other and Agent Ryker nodded to Agent Conway. They both stood up.

"Thanks for your time Your Honor." Agent Conway handed Perry his business card. "If you do hear from her again or see her, please give me a call. We appreciate your cooperation."

Perry accepted the business card and walked with them to his door.

"I think we're on the same side here gentlemen, and I do hope you're able to locate her soon. Oh – incidentally, I'm taking a temporary assignment for the Appeals Court and relocating to the Federal Courts building in Portland Oregon beginning next week. This is in no way a punitive assignment from my association with Velma Thomas, rather an opportunity to temporarily cover for a colleague who is undergoing treatment for cancer. If you need to reach me for any further information, you can contact me there."

The FBI Agents left Perry's apartment and began discussing Perry's information as they waited in the hallway for the elevator. Agent Ryker finally spoke.

"I didn't think he would be criminally involved with a con artist like her. He's not trying to cover for her at all. We can scratch _him_ off the list now."

Perry made sure the Feds got onto the elevator before he closed and locked his apartment door. " _How much worse can this get?_ " he wondered. He went right to his bar and poured himself a double bourbon on the rocks.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 3pm Sunday, 5 June 1983**

Della studied the notes she had written to herself all of Saturday evening and most of Sunday morning. She had highlighted most of the words that she planned to use when she would call Perry back later that day. _Honesty, trust, morals, integrity, compassion, virtue, nobility, womanize_ r. Della was confident that by reading the words over and over, she would be very clear in letting Perry know that she would no longer tolerate his flirtatious behavior. Once she could make him understand that, she could maybe think about seeing him in person. But he would have to jump through a few hoops to get to that point.

When she finally got enough courage to call Perry, she sat down in her recliner and punched in his number on her phone.

A very dispirited sounding Perry answered his phone.

"Hello?"

Della calmly greeted him.

"Hello, Perry. Our conversation did not end on good terms yesterday so I thought I'd try again right now if you're not busy..."

Perry perked up right away.

"I'm not busy at all, Della. It's good to hear your voice… I really miss you… We have a lot to talk about."

Della rolled her eyes and reminded herself to focus.

"So what is it that you want to talk about, Perry?"

"Well, there are a lot of things to talk about. For one thing, I really want to explain what happened in Carmel."

"We covered enough of that yesterday and I'm not ready to hear anymore about that." Her thoughts momentarily drifted back to the hot tub scene in Carmel and she frowned.

Perry wanted to appease her any way that he could so he steered clear of talking anymore about Carmel.

"Okay… Well yesterday you told me that you won't be paying any of the bills for our condo or our home in Carmel… What do you want me to do with these places aside from paying the taxes and utilities?"

"You can do whatever you want with them, Perry. Sell them, rent them out, do whatever you want – they're all yours!"

"They're _ours_ , Della. I don't want to be too hasty in getting rid of either place… If you aren't going to stay in the condo, maybe Junior can stay there – rent free for all I care… And speaking of Junior, have you talked to him at all about our – uh – _situation_?"

"No. But eventually I _will_ speak with him."

Perry was glad she was still on the phone with him but wanted to know what she was thinking.

"What will you tell him?"

"I haven't decided that yet..."

Perry rubbed his forehead – frustrated that the conversation was going nowhere.

"Well what do you want from me Della? What can I do to bring us back together to talk about this in person?"

Della paused only for a moment to glance at her notes and tears began to form in her eyes, but she wanted to make her point.

"I want _honesty_ , Perry! I want to _trust_ you and right now I don't trust you at all… I put up with several of your dalliances over the years, Perry. Lois Fenton, Eva Belter, that woman you told me about in Europe – and even two others – namely Laura Robertson and Laura Parrish! Lord only knows how many others there were that you _didn't_ have the guts to tell me about."

Perry interrupted.

"Now wait a second – Lois Fenton? Eva Belter? Those others? What did I do with any of _them_?"

The anger began to rise in Della's voice.

"I'm suddenly realizing that you threw those women in my face! Their lipstick on your cheeks – on your lips! Gladly accepting a kiss and a fan dancer feather fan from Lois Fenton – what was it you said after she kissed you? I said to you, ' _you haven't said a word since she kissed you_ ' and you throw it in my face saying ' _Didn't I say goodnight_?' If that's not throwing them in my face, I don't know what else is..."

Perry tried to interject.

"Hold on a second… _Throw them in your face_? What do you mean by that?"

"No, _you_ hold on a second! I think you purposely led those women on in front of me for some stupid thrill… The only one that I ever recall that you pushed away when she tried to kiss you was that actress friend of yours – Ramona Carver. Yeah – in her backstage dressing room you kept her at bay for a moment, then sent me away with some lame reason to find Paul Drake. When I came back to her dressing room I find that she's changed out of her stage dress to some other sleek, black, tight-fitting dress – and _you_ probably helped her change! How many others were there, Perry?" The tears in her eyes made trying to read her notes a big blur and Della was again losing her composure.

Perry tried to defend himself.

"I'm sorry about all of that, Della. I had no idea you thought that I was letting those women come on to me like that. Really – I had no idea. Can we just slow down here and talk sensibly about this? I really want to see you – and soon. I _want_ to work this out. I want you to _trust_ me. I want to be very _honest_ with you. Please, Della. Let's meet and talk this out. I love you. I miss you… Please!"

Della was silent for a moment so she could pull her thoughts together. Feeling that she was losing control of the conversation she hit back at him as her hands began to shake. She calmly continued.

"I don't want to see you right now..."

"Okay. I understand… But you also need to know that I'm being transferred temporarily to the Appeals Court in Portland. I'm going there next week to cover for a colleague that's undergoing treatment for cancer. May I call you with a phone number to reach me when I get to Portland? Will you give me your new phone number so we can at least talk once in a while?"

"No… I need time to think about this."

Perry begrudgingly replied.

"Okay... I understand that… But I think it's important for me to be able to contact you somehow."

"And I want you to leave me alone... I want a _separation_ , Perry..." Della's heart rate increased and she felt a lump in her throat after saying that.

Perry was dumbfounded.

"A _separation_? You mean a _legal_ separation?"

Della became flustered again.

"Does everything in your world always need to be so _legal_? I told you what I want and you can decide how _legal_ you want it! I need time to think about this – about us and this long-distance marriage of ours."

Perry interrupted again, but this time he was a lot more somber.

"I'll do anything you want, Della. How much time do you want to think about this?"

"I'll let you know. Goodbye Perry!"

Della disconnected the call and immediately experienced a frightening pounding in her chest. She swallowed hard wondering if the pounding in her chest was actually what a broken heart really feels like.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 3:30pm Sunday, 5 June 1983**

Perry sat quietly in his easy chair mulling over the conversation he'd just finished with Della. He rubbed his forehead again and sat back in his chair. After a moment he leaned over and picked up his phone.

Thankfully, Doctor John Wilburn was home to answer Perry's phone call.

"Do you have a minute to talk, John?"

"Sure, Perry. What's up?"

"She wants a _separation_ , John! What do I do now?"

Doctor Wilburn thought over a reply.

"How did this come about?"

Perry gave him the short version of a long story.

"When I met with Stefan Corro last weekend, he suggested that I write Della a letter to try and explain this whole ordeal. In the letter I asked her to call me and she finally did call yesterday. That first call didn't turn out very well, but she called me again today just a little while ago. After a few jabs back and forth, she clammed up and told me that she wants a separation…"

"Oh? Did she say how long she wanted to be away?"

"I asked her and all she said was that she just wants time to think… So what do I do now?"

"Well, I suppose you need to give her time to think..."

Perry slowly shook his head.

"You're not being very helpful here, John..."

"I'm sorry, Perry. But from my experience in counseling couples under similar circumstances, many women – and even some men, always want time away from each other to think over their situation. In most cases, it eventually works out and they begin speaking to each other again."

"How long does that take – to begin talking to each other?"

"It varies. Some reconcile within days or weeks. Others take months – or even years… At least she didn't ask for a divorce!"

Perry felt a chill go up and down his spine at the mention of a divorce.

" _Divorce_?! Good God, John! Do you really think she would ask for a divorce?"

"I don't see that happening, Perry. She's only mentioned a separation. She's probably still very angry with you. Women handle their anger and grief a lot differently than men do. Asking for a separation usually means that she needs time to think about the situation. When she's had enough time, she'll come around to speaking with you again..."

"Ohhh. I see… So I have no choice but to give her time..."

Doctor Wilburn was sympathetic.

"I wish there was more I could tell you, Perry. But I _do_ know this – Della is a reasonable person. She'll come around and you just need to be patient until she does. You two have known each other too long for her to just walk away from your relationship without a chance to fix what's broken. Give her time, Perry. It won't be easy for either of you, but give her time..."

It really _wasn't_ going to be easy, but Perry began to accept Doctor Wilburn's take on the matter.

"I guess I have no choice. I'll back off, but I'm not very happy about this. I worry about her. And to make matters worse, I'm being asked to transfer to the Appeals Court in Portland to cover for another Justice that's out sick."

Doctor Wilburn put a positive twist on Perry's temporary assignment.

"That might not be such a bad thing, Perry. A change in your daily routine might help. Did you have the opportunity to tell Della about your transfer?"

"I mentioned it – just to let her know that if she wants to call me again, I won't be in San Francisco. I asked for her phone number and she wouldn't give it to me..."

"She's likely still in that anger stage, Perry. If she knows where you might be, she'll find a way to get a hold of you when she's ready. When do you leave for Portland?"

"Next week..."

"Well then I hope we have time to talk some more at the Club this week..."

"I'm counting on it. Thanks for helping me out, John..."

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. There's a lot more to come, so I appreciate your patience as I edit each chapter before posting. Thank you for your comments and reviews.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Los Angeles, CA Doctor Connie McRae's Office 4pm Monday, 6 June 1983**

As Della pulled into the parking lot at Doctor McRae's office building, she started looking around to see if anyone was watching her or following her into the building. She then thought to herself, " _Stop being so paranoid. I_ _don't_ _think Frank Faulkner and his men_ _are_ _following you_ _anymore_!"

Doctor McRae was waiting for her at the receptionist's desk as she entered the office.

"Hello, Della. Come right in. My receptionist is gone for the day, so it's just you and me for as long as we need to talk."

Della continued walking into the office.

"I really can't stay too long but I thought it was very important for me to see you today. Thanks for setting this up!"

Doctor McRae walked across the lobby and locked the door behind Della before she followed her into her office.

"It was no problem at all. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like a cup of coffee or something else?"

Della got seated in her usual chair.

"Coffee sounds fine, Connie. Thank you."

After pouring the coffee and handing Della her cup, Doctor McRae got seated at her desk.

"What has happened since we talked on the phone Saturday? Anything at all?"

Slowly nodding her head after taking a sip of coffee, Della gave her the update.

"I called him yesterday… Just like you had recommended, I had written down all the key phrases and words that I wanted to say to him, but after a few minutes, it all fell apart. I asked him for a separation..."

Doctor McRae looked very concerned. " _This is not the breakthrough I was expecting_ ," she thought to herself.

"A separation, huh? What led you to make a decision like that?"

Della looked up and away.

"Oh, I don't know... We rambled on about all of his past flirtations with other women over the years – and of course he denied knowing anything about what _I_ was talking about! I even used the names of these women and he acted so innocent. When I'd heard enough of his denials, I just blurted out that I didn't want to see him and that I wanted a separation..."

"I see... Well, I want to get to the part about those other women a little later. So what did he say about a separation?"

"Ha! He wanted to know if I wanted a _legal_ separation! Typical reply from an attorney!"

"Is this what you _really_ want?"

Della slowly shook her head and quietly replied.

"No, not really… But now that I've had time to think about this overnight, it's probably the best option for me. I told him that I needed time to work this out in my mind. He just wanted to know how much time I needed. Well I don't know that yet!"

"So after you've thought about it overnight, can you _accept_ your decision to separate?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Della finally answered.

"Yes. I suppose that I have to live with that decision – for now. There's so much that's happened since Carmel and every day that goes by, I feel a little less muddled. I think a separation is just what I need."

"Okay. I can back you up with that decision… But only if you have a network of friends or family that will support you in that decision also. Letting close friends know of your situation will prevent extra stress for you. You're bound to be invited out in social situations or even asked about how Perry is doing. You won't have to be evasive answering those questions and feel awkward about the situation if your family and friends are aware of your uncomfortable circumstances. Does that make sense to you?"

Della was staring at the floor.

"Yes that makes sense. That's good advice. But I can only share that with close friends and probably Junior..."

"Absolutely. Have you talked to Junior about this yet?"

"No – but I've been trying to get a hold of him all day to meet with him soon. I want to tell him about this in person..."

"And you plan to do the same with close friends?"

Della immediately began thinking about who she could confide in.

"Oh, yes. But only _very_ close friends." She paused to think it over more.

"You know, over the years I've become acquainted with several other women that endured problems in their lives and relationships also. A few of them are even Hollywood celebrities! Out of the spotlight, they have difficulties in their lives just like we normal people do. We all became good friends years ago and they confided in me with their problems on the side… In a big way, Perry is also a celebrity because he became so famous for his courtroom success," Della sighed.

"How did you meet these other famous people?"

Looking up to the ceiling, Della recalled meeting one of her friends in Perry's office.

"I met one such celebrity who became a very dear friend way back in 1959 – as usual, it was in Perry's office..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Perry's Law Office** **2pm Tuesday, 11 August 1959**

As Perry sat as his desk taking notes while paging through various court documents, Della walked into his office all excited and closed the door behind her.

"Perry? I know that you're really busy on that merger and don't want to be disturbed, but you have a potential client in my office right now that just needs a few minutes of your time..."

Perry looked up from his notes and put his pen down. Half grinning and fully admiring his beautiful secretary, he gave Della his undivided attention.

"What is it this time? And did this client have an appointment? I know what a stickler you are for appointments..."

"They don't have an appointment, but I just know you'll give them the few minutes they need for your _expert_ legal advice..." Della fluttered her eyelashes and leaned back against the office door folding her arms across her chest.

"You said _client_ at first, now you're saying _clients_ – as in plural..."

"Well only _one_ is the client, the other is just along for the ride..."

"And exactly what type of _expert_ legal advice is needed?"

Stepping forward, Della quietly replied.

"It's a very minor music copyright dispute… And they have no one else to turn to… Only the best legal mind in the country can help them..." Della looked up towards the ceiling with a phony look of despair on her face.

Perry rolled his eyes at her antics and gave in.

"In that case, show the client in… But first, may I ask who this potential client is?"

All excited, Della leaned forward and placed her hands on Perry's desk.

"It's one of your favorite singers – Jo Stafford and her husband, Paul Weston… Paul is the client… And after the introductions, I think I can keep Miss Stafford busy in my office while you and her husband talk..."

Grinning and shaking his head, Perry motioned for her to bring them in.

After introducing Jo Stafford and her husband Paul Weston, they all made small talk for about five minutes before Jo and Della left Perry and Paul to discuss their legal matter.

In Della's office, the girls got along very well talking about the music industry and how record albums are recorded. Della was able to compliment Jo on her popularity with the military troops during World War II. Then when Della told Jo that she volunteered at a USO to support the troops, they both found more things that they had in common.

Later, their conversation turned to other famous singers that Perry and Della enjoy listening to and shows that Perry had brought Della to. Over an hour went by before Perry and Paul were finished talking and walked out into Della's office as the girls had just finished exchanging phone numbers.

"Guess what, Perry? Miss Stafford has arranged for us to get tickets to a special Frank Sinatra reunion concert at the Hollywood Palladium. She's going to call me as soon as the date is set – it's supposed to be in December sometime!"

Jo Stafford just smiled and turned to Perry.

"I'll do the best I can about those tickets, Mister Mason." She turned back to Della. "And you can just call me ' _Jo_ ', Della. Do you also want to tell him about our plans to tour the Capitol Records recording studio next week?"

Della was just beaming.

"Oh – right! Miss Stafford – uh, I mean _Jo_ , has offered to show me around." Della winked at Perry. "She thinks that with a _sultry_ voice like mine, I can record a song there and become famous overnight..."

Perry and Paul Weston exchanged surprised glances before Paul decided to break up the meeting to leave. He reached out to shake Perry's hand.

"Mister Mason? Thanks again for fitting me in. I look forward to seeing you again next week. Miss Street? Try not to impress those recording studio executives too much next week. Your boss informs me that you are indispensable to him. Now if these ladies are finished discussing all of their future plans, we'll be on our way!"

Paul reached over to take his wife's elbow to lead her out, but Jo had just one more thing to say.

"I'll call you later, Della. It was nice meeting both of you! Bye-bye!" She waved over her shoulder as Paul led her away.

After Jo and Paul had left the office, Della smiled and walked over to stand in front of Perry.

"What a nice lady! So down-to-earth! I hope you can help her husband..."

Perry took Della's face into his hands and gently pulled Della in close for a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I'll do my best my dear, indispensable, secretary. After all, you said that only the best legal mind in the country can help them – and I'm only the best when I have you beside me..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4:40pm Monday, 6 June 1983**

Doctor McRae had been studying Della's mannerisms as Della told her about meeting Jo Stafford in Perry's law office. Reliving that story really brought a sparkle to Della's eyes.

"How wonderful that you could meet famous people. I just love Jo Stafford's voice. My mother probably had all of her albums and played them all the time. And you say that you're still friends with her to this day?"

"Oh yes! She's very much semi-retired for several years now – out of the spotlight so to speak. But we meet up every once in a while for lunch or dinner. She's a very special person."

"Just out of curiosity, did you ever record a hit record album in the Capitol Records studio?"

Della laughed.

"Oh that was fun! With the recording engineer at the controls behind the glass, Jo put me in front of the microphone and I recorded " _Put the Blame on Mame_ ". Obviously I didn't give up my day job for a recording contract. That song was originally recorded by Rita Hayworth in the movie "Gilda". But that movie was probably way before your time!"

"Not really. I occasionally catch some of those classic films on the late show on television – that is, when my husband will let me watch what _I_ want to watch instead of sports!"

Della reflected back in time.

"Those days were so much fun. Life was a lot different back then," she sighed. "I've met so many wonderful stage and screen performers from that era… As a matter of fact while I was at Capitol Records that day, Jo introduced me to Julie London and her husband-to-be Bobby Troup! They were there to meet with someone about some music Bobby Troup had written… Ah, yes – those were the days," Della smiled.

Doctor McRae reluctantly brought Della back to reality.

"So, Della, because Jo Stafford or your other friends also know Perry, how do you think they'll handle it if you tell them about your separation from him?"

Della pondered the question.

"I think they'll be understanding. Like many other of my Hollywood friends, we've confided in each other over the years. We've all experienced ups and downs in our marriages, relationships, or with children and other loved ones. The toughest part was keeping the paparazzi or tabloid journalists out of our personal lives. As friends, we can usually come up with the right advice and support for each other in certain situations."

"That's great. I think you really need supportive friends at a time like this. I suggest that when you're ready, that you talk to them about your situation with Perry and find out how they can also help you through this. They're the ones that know you the best."

After a slight hesitation, Della agreed.

"I think I can comfortably talk with _some_ of my friends about this. I'm not sure how they will react to this news, though. I've always sort of bragged about what a great relationship I have with Perry."

"Well like I said, when you're ready to talk to them, they'll understand… Now what about Junior? You said that you've been trying to contact him to set up a meeting. How do you plan to break the news to him that there's something going on between you and Perry?"

Della paused and clasped her hands together on her lap.

"I'm not really sure about that yet. But I think I'm strong enough to just bring it out in the open when we _do_ meet. I'm just not sure what his reaction will be. We're really the only parents he's known… I hope he'll understand..."

"Right..." Doctor McRae glanced at the clock on the wall before continuing.

"So, we still have a lot of time left. Would you like to tell me about all those other women that came on to Perry in front of you over the years?"

Della quickly glanced at her watch.

"I think I can summarize a few incidents for you in the time we have left."

"Okay… Which incident do you want to start with?"

"I should probably start with the only woman that he _admitted_ to nearly straying with… It was back in early 1965. I don't remember which month exactly."

 **Los Angeles, CA Perry's Law Office 3pm Thursday, 14 January 1965**

After his return from his latest trip to Europe, Della noticed that Perry had been acting very strange in the office that day. When his late-night flight returned to Los Angeles, Perry stayed at his apartment in Los Angeles and came into the office just before noon. Right away he had immersed himself in reading old legal documents from several of his trips to Europe in the early 1960's. She finally found a free moment in his schedule to find out why he was unusually quiet and troubled about those old cases.

Strolling into his office, Della tried to break his silence by starting a conversation.

"I've finally finished putting away all of the files from your latest European trip. Would you like some help with the files you've been reviewing today?" She brought over a coffee pot and filled his cup.

In his chair, Perry pushed back from his desk and clasped his hands together under his chin.

"No thanks," he replied quietly.

"Is there something wrong, Perry? You've been awfully quiet and involved in those files all day..."

Suddenly, Perry stood up and walked towards the balcony doors to gaze outside before he said anything further.

"I'm dropping our client in Europe. I'll find out where you can send back his retainer fees and that will be it..."

Della walked over and stood next to him sensing that he was troubled by that decision.

"What happened in Europe?"

"I can't talk about right now, Della… It's complicated..."

"We've worked through complications before..."

Perry raised his voice a little.

"Well we can't work through this one!" He paused and turned back towards his desk.

"I've got to get out of here. I need to get some sleep. I'll be staying at my apartment again tonight. Goodbye." Perry walked out of the office leaving Della standing there bewildered.

Around five o'clock, Della locked her desk drawer and put on her sweater before picking up her purse to leave. Before turning off her desk lamp, she heard a noise in Perry's office. Before she could get to her office door to investigate the noise, Perry was standing in the doorway.

"I've got to talk to you..."

Della put her purse down on her desk, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back on the edge of the desk.

"I was hoping that you'd want to talk to me. What is it, Perry?"

Perry reached for her hand to lead her into his office.

"Come in here. I want you to sit down." He got her seated on the couch and sat down next to her with his hands clasped together in front of him.

"I've got to explain what happened in Germany... And it all started a few years back. I just had no idea until this last trip, what was going on with this, uh – this _situation_..."

Before Perry could say anything more, Della interrupted.

"Who is _she_?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean _who is she_? Just like I said..."

"What brought _that_ on?"

"For crying out loud, Perry! A few nights ago you called from Europe saying how lonely you were. To try and soothe your feelings of loneliness, I brought you up to speed with what was going on in the office. You'll remember that's when I told you that Ken Kramer called for you seeking advice on a case he was working. After you told me to help Ken and get Paul involved also, you suddenly clammed up."

Perry let out a heavy sigh and reached for Della's hands to hold.

"This all took place after I talked with you... The _she_ you are wondering about was a secretary that they set me up with for translation services. And I swear to you, Della, for the past several years, that's _all_ she's done for me. Then on my last night there, she was in my hotel room waiting for me – dressed in a satin nightgown sitting on the edge of my bed just waiting for me. Without saying anything, she walked up to me, put her arms around my neck and pulled me down into a kiss!"

Perry let go of Della's hands and turned away to stand up. After nervously running his fingers through his hair, he turned back to Della to continue the story while Della looked up at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Right away I put her off by grabbing onto her shoulders and gently moving her away from me. She released her hold on my neck and stumbled back a bit. Of course I couldn't let her fall, so I just held her away from me as she got her balance back. I finally asked her what she was trying to do. She answered something like she was _trying_ to do what she was being _paid_ to do – be a ' _loving companion_ ' for me while I was there working as her boss's attorney!"

Perry began pacing.

"I don't know what came over me. I was thinking of you and Paul working with Ken Kramer – all of a sudden I sort of felt jealous. And here in front of me was this beautiful woman who told me that she was only there as a _companion_ for me! I was almost tempted to let her do her job… But I just couldn't do that to her. Or to _us_!"

Della remained silent but watched him pace back and forth in front of her. Perry stopped in front of her and took her hands to help her up off the couch. He took her in his arms and placed her head against his chest. Della's arms remained hanging loose at her side.

"On the long flight back here yesterday, I agonized the whole time about whether or not I should tell you about this… I thought that if I _didn't_ say anything, how would you ever find out about her? If we just drop this client, how would you ever know anything about what she was hired to do on the side? On the other hand, I just know that I wouldn't be able to keep this from you. What if that woman felt used or abused by me in some way and it would come back to haunt me? It's been bothering me since the moment I found out what she was really there for, and now I'm supposed to feel better telling you about this."

Della finally raised her arms up and clasped her hands together around the back of his neck while keeping her head against his chest. Perry softly nuzzled his cheek into her soft hair and quietly continued talking.

"Are you okay, baby? I'm sorry that I let this stuff go on… Sometimes I get so involved in my work that I don't pay very close attention to other things that I _should_ be paying attention to – like a woman being paid to be my _companion_. Then I get a jealous streak in me and I stop thinking clearly for a few moments."

Della lifted her head away from his chest and pulled him down into an eager kiss. When she released her hold on him she finally said something.

"I'm okay. I'm glad that you told me… I'll send the retainer fee back by check tomorrow… And for the record Counselor, Ken Kramer is not my type so there's no reason for you to jealous of _him_ … You're the only man for me..."

Perry brought her head back onto his chest and they silently swayed in each others arms for a few moments longer before Perry finally said something.

"You're too good to me, Della… I better take you to dinner and then bring you home where I can hold you and love you all night…"

After kissing him again, Della reached for his hands.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here."

 **Los Angeles, CA Doctor Connie McRae's Office 5pm Monday, 6 June 1983**

Doctor McRae was sitting back in her chair listening to Della's story when Della stopped talking and glanced at her watch.

"Oh my! I've been rambling on again and here it is five o'clock already!"

"That's okay, Della. I don't mind listening. It's important for me to hear about the things that you've experienced in the past in your relationship with him. It sounds to me that he had no reason to be jealous of you and Ken Kramer, and that you _believed_ what he disclosed to you about that European translator."

"I _did_ believe him," Della replied wearily. "But with all of the things I've been sorting through _now_ , I suddenly have my doubts. I keep going back to those buzzwords about _trust_ and _honesty_. I can't help but wonder if he's actually been making a fool of me all these years. Then I think about all of the good times we've had – the attention he gives me in a romantic way... I just get more confused. What do I _really_ believe?"

"That's why you talk about these things. Eventually you'll be able to sort through all of this and come to some sort of understanding with what you're believing. You'll know in your mind what has been truthful. And it's okay to still have a few doubts, but now you'll be more aware of things to look out for."

"I have always thought that I had a keen sense of really knowing someone through and through. Now I'm beginning to see that it might not be the case."

"You mentioned earlier that there were others that you were concerned about that were attracted to Perry. If you want to talk about them, we still have time..."

"Well I think I've gotten over the other ones – and would you believe they're both named _Laura_?"

"That's interesting… What happened with these _Lauras_?"

"Well the first one, Laura Robertson, was his ex-girlfriend – and they stopped seeing each other before Perry and I began dating. Then after we started dating, there _was_ an opportunity for them to reunite while I was away for an extended time caring for a sick relative. During that time I think he realized that he did not want to be involved with her and the last time that he saw her, he had watched her board a plane bound for Denver. He hasn't seen her since – and now she's married to a successful businessman there."

"And the other Laura?"

"That one was Laura Parrish. I had my doubts about her for a long time. She was with him back in..." Della paused to try and remember the date. "I think it was 1967. It was when he was in Washington DC involved with teaching college law classes and doing a few other things for about a month as I recall. Anyway, I phoned him one night at his hotel room and she was the one that answered the phone. She asked who _I_ was, and I turned the tables on her by asking her who _she_ was. She wouldn't answer so I again asked her to put Perry on the phone. She said that he was in the shower and hung up on me! Turns out that she was the wife of Perry's friend and he claims that she was there in his hotel room to ask his advice on her marriage problems. He later admitted to me that she was attracted to him while working together with him. He said that she was going to divorce her husband and wanted to be with Perry, but Perry discouraged that. After that he brought them back together by talking with both of them. Anyway, they stayed married and have a daughter now. The daughter writes to Perry once in a while – she refers to him her special _uncle_."

"Don't you find that sort of odd for her to refer to him as a special uncle?"

"Not really. You see, long before Perry left here for the appointment to the Appeals Court, his trips to Washington DC became fewer and fewer. And he usually brought me along! Occasionally we'd see the whole family together at dinner, but when I was along, Laura Parrish would keep the meeting short and sweet – for her daughter's sake. Perry doesn't have contact with her mother at all anymore and rarely talks with her father. The relationship is strictly business with the parents now except for the daughter who still writes to Perry once in a while. While growing up, she considered him a _pen pal_. I believe that it was just a childhood crush on a very good-looking older man."

"I see… Well it sounds like you're satisfied that these women are not in contact with him anymore. Is that really what you feel?"

"Yes. I'm pretty confident that he's through with them. It's just that I wonder if the reason he's _not_ in contact with them anymore is because I _knew_ about them somehow… At the time, I wasn't jealous of his interactions with other women – except for him seeing his ex, Laura Robertson while I was away. But now that I've actually seen him with that woman in Carmel, I'm having some doubts."

"Naturally! But today you seem a little more relaxed now that you've talked through several things. You look tired."

"I _am_ a little tired, but I'm glad that I could find the time to see you today. My work load has picked up a little and I think that my boss, Mister Gordon, is about to venture into something big very soon. The more that I can clear up my feelings on this situation with Perry, the more I can be ready for what Mister Gordon is planning."

"Well let's try and set up some time soon for another session if you want. If we have an appointment scheduled and you need to cancel for any reason, I'll understand."

"Thanks, Connie. I really enjoy these sessions. I really think they're helping me to understand what I'm feeling, and what I need to do to get through this."

As they started to schedule another appointment, Della signed and reminisced once again.

"Do you want to know something really baffling to me? For so many years Perry and I saw so many unhappy marriages and troubled relationships in the cases that we worked on… I just _never_ thought that Perry and I would end up in a situation like this."

After setting up their next appointment, Della left Doctor McRae's office in better spirits. Now she needed to get home and try to get a hold of Paul Drake Junior.

 **TBC**

In this chapter I just thought that I would toss in the names of some real Hollywood celebrities from the bygone " _golden era"_ of music and films. Are there any guesses for which film "Put the Blame on Mame" was also sung and by whom? Thanks for reading. As always, I appreciate your comments and reviews.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

 **Los Angeles, CA Jake's Steak House 6pm Tuesday, 7 June 1983**

After being seated in a booth by the restaurant hostess, Della was making herself comfortable when her server approached right away and placed a glass of ice water in front of her.

"I understand that you're waiting on another guest right now, but may I get you something from the bar while you're waiting?"

Della quickly grabbed the drink menu in front of her and chose a glass of the house Merlot. When her server left, she put the drink menu down with the dinner menu and anxiously looked towards the door waiting on her dinner companion. With a creased brow, she glanced at her watch and was sipping her water when the server returned with her wine. Before the server could leave, Paul Drake Junior walked up behind the server.

"I'm right on time I see – sort of. If you're taking orders for a drink, I'll have what she's having..."

"Right away sir. She's having the house Merlot..."

"That's great, thank you..."

The server left and Paul held his dangling necktie to his chest while leaning over Della to give her a kiss on her cheek. He then sat down in the booth across the table from her.

"Sorry I'm a little late. Damn this LA traffic! Long time, no see Della. You look wonderful!"

Her sad eyes turned brighter when Paul's cheerful presence lifted her spirits.

"Thank you, Paul. It's good to see you. I'm glad that you could meet for dinner on such short notice..."

"Well, you sounded so serious setting up this meeting on the phone! Then when you wouldn't give me a clue about what this occasion is, even though I was so busy, I dropped everything just to be here."

With a smile on her face, Della shot him an arched brow across the table.

"Dropped everything, huh? I called you at your office and home all day yesterday and you never answered the phone until this morning. That leads me to believe that you were either out carousing around all night with your latest girlfriend, or busy hanging out with the boys in the band."

The server returned with Paul's glass of wine and he told the server that they would need a few minutes before ordering dinner. Paul got back to their conversation.

"What if I told you that I was working on an important case?"

Della slowly shook her head and tilted it away in disbelief.

"Damn! I've been busted again! Just like when I was a sophomore in high school and you and Perry met me at the door one morning after I snuck out overnight… I tried explaining that the boys and I were just out trying to spook a girls' slumber party."

Paul looked up and away for a moment recalling that particular night.

"At the time, I thought it was a harmless night out. But boy oh boy was _that_ a stern lecture by Perry about sneaking out and staying out all night! Speaking of Perry, how is our favorite Appeals Court Justice?" Paul sipped his wine waiting for Della's answer.

Della could feel her pulse rate elevating and her cheeks turning red. She reached for her wine and took a sip before answering.

"Perry is the reason that I've asked you to meet me here tonight, Paul..." With both of her hands, she lightly grasped her wine glass on the table in front of her as she continued.

Paul turned and looked around inside of the restaurant.

"Oh? Will he be joining us here shortly?"

"No, he won't be here... I've uh, asked him for a _separation_..." She deliberately looked down at her wine glass to avoid seeing the reaction in Paul's face.

Paul's eyes widened as he was completely stunned. He reached across the table to gently cover her hands with his.

"Why? What happened? Talk to me Della..."

Della finally looked over at him.

"There's so much that you don't know, and eventually I can give you all of the reasons for this, but not right now. I'll just say this – our long distance marriage is not working out right now…"

Paul's detective mind was running wild but he immediately figured out that it had something to do with their meeting in Carmel. He sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest.

"Something happened in Carmel, didn't it?"

Looking back down at her wine glass, Della slowly nodded.

"Yes something happened in Carmel, but I don't want to talk about it right now..." Once again the vision of a naked woman climbing out of a hot tub came to her mind.

Paul shook his head and lightly slapped a hand down on the table.

"I should have known something happened in Carmel! That was right around the time that Perry actually called me at home one day – it was his birthday and like an idiot I forgot all about it until after we hung up! I thought _that_ was the reason he was calling me. He threw me for a loop when he actually asked me if I'd heard from you at all – said that you two were playing phone tag."

He looked up towards the ceiling. "Why didn't I catch all those clues that something was up?" Paul quickly looked back to Della. "I'm sorry that I didn't check this out further..."

"It's okay, Paul. Neither of us wants to bring you into this situation..."

"But how are _you_ doing? You really _do_ look wonderful as always, but are you feeling okay – deep down inside?"

"I'm getting by, Paul. No one else knows about this, but I've been seeing a relationship therapist. She's been very helpful."

The server returned to their table and asked if they were ready to order. Paul politely told him that they were not ready yet but would look at the menu shortly. He turned back to Della.

"That's a good idea – getting professional help. But if you need anything from me – to talk or help you in _any_ way, will you please call me?"

Reaching into her purse, Della removed a small notebook and pen.

"I have a new phone number." She began writing the phone number on the note paper. "And in case you were wondering, I've moved out of the condo in Sherman Oaks." She added her address to the paper. "Here's where I'm living now. I'm renting this house from a colleague at work. He's out of the country until at least December..."

Paul took the paper from Della and read it over.

"You're just down the road a bit in Calabasas. Nice area! Does Perry know about any of this?"

"That's another story – but yes, he knows that I've moved. But I didn't give him my phone number so you'll have to keep that just between you and me..."

After tucking away the note in his shirt pocket, Paul replied.

"You can confide in me, Della. I don't know what I'd even be able to say to Perry, but maybe if we all get together – when you're ready of course – we can work this out as a family. I really mean it..."

Della softly chuckled.

"I think that's a long way off right now, Paul..." She changed the subject. "I'm sure you're just as hungry as I am. Let's order dinner… There are a few other things I want to talk to you about that we can't discuss on an empty stomach."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Paul Drake's Home 9am Saturday, 11 June 1983**

Waking from a sound sleep, Paul Drake rolled over in his bed and reached for his ringing phone.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Paul. Did I wake you up?"

Paul immediately sat up in bed when he recognized Perry's voice on the line. Trying to sound more alert than he really was, he cheerfully answered.

"Hey! Hi Perry! I was, uh, just starting my day! How are you?"

"I'll let you know that later… Do you have plans for today? I'm in LA until tomorrow and I'd like to meet with you sometime."

Paul ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair and tried to sort through any plans he had for the weekend. Thinking of nothing significant, he finally replied.

"I can't think of anything important that I have to do today. Where are you?"

"I'm at the condo in Sherman Oaks. I'm here to dig through some important papers and such. Do you want to come over later – or maybe meet somewhere for lunch? It's very important that I see you..."

"Uh, sure, Perry. I can meet whenever and wherever you want today. Name it..."

"Why don't we start by meeting here, at the condo? How about around eleven o'clock? After we talk we can go out for a bite to eat..."

"Okay! Sounds great, Perry! I'll see you then!"

After hanging up the phone, Paul threw off his bed covers and sat on the edge of the bed. Before standing up, he rubbed his face with his hands thinking to himself, " _Well, here we go_..."

Not wanting to be late for meeting Perry, Paul arrived at the condo five minutes early. He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before he heard Perry's gruff voice inside.

"Come in, Paul… The door's unlocked..."

Paul walked in to find Perry at the kitchen counter sitting on a stool with small piles of paperwork laid out in front of him.

Walking over to greet Perry, Paul held out one hand to shake hands with Perry while placing his other hand on Perry's shoulder. Paul noted how somber and downhearted Perry looked.

"Good to see you, Perry." Paul nodded towards the stack of utility bills and property tax papers on the counter and tried to sound upbeat. "Isn't it a little late to be looking at tax papers?"

Perry gestured for Paul to sit down next to him.

"Have a seat, Paul. I'm simply sorting out which bills have been paid and when the next ones might be due. And that includes looking for a property tax statement that's due in November." His serious tone turned softer as he swept the papers aside.

"I'll get right to the point of why I wanted to see you in person, Paul… I assume that you've already talked to Della?"

A very nervous Paul cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes I _have_ talked to Della. We met for dinner Tuesday night." He paused only for a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry about what's happening between you two, Perry. Della didn't give me a lot of details, but all I know is that something happened with you two in Carmel. I just hope that _I_ didn't cause any trouble – you know – since I couldn't come through with good tickets to my show that weekend. I feel awful..."

Perry reached over and grasped Paul's shoulder.

"You have nothing to feel bad about, Paul. This is all a matter between Della and me. This is something that I caused and some day I hope to see Della in person to start working this out. This is not easy on Della or me. She wants time to sort out this situation and I understand that. And I won't put you in this middle of this, either. I'm just glad that you could come over today… You've already probably heard that Della has moved out of this place..."

"Yes. She said that she's in Calabasas now..."

"Right. So now I need to figure out what to do with _this_ place. I don't want to sell it. I don't want the hassle of renting it to someone I don't know very well. So how would you like to stay here – just pay the utilities for now and you won't be charged any rent?"

Not expecting Perry to offer the condo to him, Paul was surprised.

"Wow… I didn't see _that_ offer coming… This place is huge! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a den… I don't know what to say, Perry."

"Just say okay and that you'll move in when your lease is up on your apartment at the end of the month…"

Paul looked up to think over the offer.

"Let's see… Today is what – the eleventh? I need to give thirty days notice to my landlord… I wonder if he'll let me out of the thirty day notice if I just give up my damage deposit? I think he can easily find another renter to take my apartment..."

"You don't have to decide this right this minute, Paul. I know this is unexpected and if you need more time to work this out, that's fine. I just thought that I'd make the offer to you. Right now I don't want to do anything too drastic with this property. I only ask that you leave the master bedroom for me in case I return here occasionally."

"Well thanks for the offer, Perry. I won't change a thing in this place if I do decide to move in. How about if I let you know by Monday?"

"Monday is fine, Paul. And just so you know, I'm taking a temporary transfer with the Appeals Court to Portland Oregon starting Monday. I don't have all of the details yet, but I hope we can stay in touch."

"Of course we'll stay in touch, Perry. And just so you know, I'll do anything to help you – and Della, too." Paul's eyes narrowed and the worried look on his face was evident. "We're family… I just know we can work this out somehow." Paul lowered his head.

Perry reassured Paul by patting him on the shoulder and consoled him with a softer tone to his voice.

"I'm hoping for the best too, Paul. I love Della more than anyone in the world. If you'll do something for me – I'll appreciate it… Look after her – keep her safe and happy. She loves you very much and I'll feel better knowing that you're around to protect her until we can work this out..."

Paul looked up.

"You can count on me, Perry. I love you both and I want to see both of you back together again – and soon."

That brought a smile to Perry's face. He stacked up the papers on the counter and put them aside.

"You probably haven't even had breakfast yet. How about if we head out for lunch right now? I can come back here later and finish this."

Paul nodded his approval.

"Good idea! I'm starving!"

Perry stood up and grabbed the house keys. "Let's go – you're driving. So what are you hungry for? And don't say that you're craving one of those double-doubles at In & Out Burger right now. I need to find a place that serves a good cocktail!"

Paul stood up and patted Perry on the back as they walked to the door.

"A double-double would be great, but I know of a better place just down the road… And if our timing is right, I think there's a certain good-looking waitress working there right now..." Paul stopped walking and paused to scratch his head. "Now if I can only remember her name… Is it Rachel? Roxanne?"

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Perry gently pushed Paul towards the door.

"Let's go, Romeo..."

Walking down the hallway, Paul continued.

"Could it be Rosemary? Or maybe just _Rose_? Rebecca? That's it! I think it's Rebecca!"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco International Airport 9am Sunday, 12 June 1983**

Still wearing oversized sunglasses inside the airport terminal and clutching an airline carry-on bag, Velma Thomas took a seat near the gate where she waited to board her flight to Tokyo Japan. Nervously glancing around at other passengers waiting in the area, she looked at her watch.

" _I've still got_ _about twenty_ _-five minutes before they begin boarding. I better check_ _and see_ _where I put my passport_ ," she thought to herself. Digging into her purse, she located the passport and opened it up. " _Velma Katherine Richmond_ ," she read her identity listed on the passport. She quickly closed the passport and put it back in her purse. " _That will be enough to get me into Japan._ _They're looking for Velma Thomas, not Velma Richmond,_ " she thought.

" _What else am I forgetting_ ," she wondered to herself. " _Oh! My boarding pass_!" She quickly located the boarding pass in the airline ticket pamphlet in her purse and began to relax. Removing a magazine from the outer pocket of her carry-on bag, Velma opened up the magazine to casually glance at the pages while keeping a watchful eye out for any cops or Federal Agents that might be following her.

On the run from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies since the raid on her Nob Hill home on the twenty-fifth of May, Velma had been staying in different hotels using different identities trying to come up with a plan to get out of the country. She was finally able to purchase a one-way airline ticket to Tokyo where she knew that she could start all over again. Her plan was to use funds that, over the years, she had tucked away in two different bank accounts in Tokyo. Hoping to start again with a new identity and being smart enough to continue her scheming ways, she knew that once she'd arrive safely in Tokyo, life would be good again.

Velma also planned ahead for drastic measures if she would ever be caught by authorities. While pretending to read her magazine, she thought about that plan and put her magazine aside to dig into her purse again. Feeling around in the purse, her hand grasped onto a pill bottle and she brought it out of the purse.

" _I'm so glad I could get this anti-depressant prescription refilled_ ," she thought. " _If any cop tries to detain me, I just pop a few of these into my mouth and it's off to the hospital_ _as an overdose victim_ _instead of a jail!_ _After they_ _pump my stomach and soak up anything remaining with the usual charcoal treatment,_ _I can easily escape from a hospital emergency room!_ _They're not taking me to any Federal Prison for the rest of my life!_ "

An announcement over the loudspeaker at her gate got Velma's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We'll begin boarding this non-stop flight to Tokyo in a few minutes. We'll be boarding all first class passengers and those that need assistance getting onto the aircraft first. Please have your boarding pass ready when we begin the boarding process. Thank you for flying United Airlines..."

The announcement was repeated in Japanese while Velma readied herself to board the aircraft and take her seat in first class. After taking her boarding pass out of her purse, Velma looked up and around the gate area. Suddenly noticing two men dressed in dark business suits wearing fedora hats near the gate area, she saw that they were carefully scanning over the passengers mingling in the area.

" _Oh no_ ," she thought. " _Feds_!" She quickly adjusted her sunglasses and looked down and away hoping they had not seen her. " _Better get those pills ready_... She reached back into her purse and turned away from the men in the fedoras.

"Ladies and gentleman, we're now ready for boarding beginning with first class passengers..."

A line had already formed by the gate ticket agent so Velma made her way towards the entry gate with the boarding pass in one hand and the pill bottle in the other hand. There were just seven other passengers in front of her and Velma took one more glance towards the men in the fedoras. She began to panic even more when she noticed that they were walking in her direction.

" _This is it_! _They won't take me without a fight_ ," Velma swore to herself. Popping the cap off the pill bottle, Velma put several pills in her mouth and quickly tried to swallow them down. With just one person in front of her now, and having successfully swallowed most of the pills in the bottle, Velma continued moving towards the gate agent wondering why the Feds hadn't grabbed onto her yet.

As Velma handed the gate agent her boarding pass, she quickly glanced over her shoulder to look for the men. They had actually walked over to another couple of passengers seated near the gate entrance. Out of earshot from Velma, they were all laughing and just saying their goodbyes to each other.

" _Ha! They didn't even see me… I wonder what they wanted with those other passengers,"_ Velma thought to herself as she continued onto the entrance ramp to the aircraft.

Once on board the aircraft, Velma forgot all about having ingested several anti-depressant pills and made herself comfortable in her seat. Still hoping that the aircraft would quickly be filled with passengers and push away from the gate, Velma nervously looked out her window avoiding eye contact with any of the flight crew or other passengers.

Within thirty minutes, the airplane was rushing down the runway and lifting up into the sky. Velma removed her sunglasses and finally relaxed in her seat thinking that she would be home free upon landing in Tokyo. But within an hour of the flight leaving the airport, her heart rate increased and she began to perspire. Velma then realized that the overdose of pills that she had taken was making her very ill.

" _I've got to get into the lavatory right away and throw up_ ," was her immediate thought. She unfastened her seatbelt and asked the passenger next to her to let her get by. As Velma stood up in the aisle and tried to start walking to the lavatory, her weakened knees began to buckle and she collapsed. By the time a flight attendant got to her to assist, Velma was incoherent and unable to move or speak. She eventually began convulsing as the flight attendant tried to hold her down.

A second flight attendant arrived to assist and asked other onlooking passengers if there was a doctor on-board.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco International Airport 7am Monday, 13 June 1983**

Arriving in plenty of time to catch his flight to Portland Oregon, Perry sat down in the waiting area of his departure gate. He yawned due to the early start that he had to make to get to the airport for the early flight. With another twenty minutes left before the aircraft was due to board passengers, he unfolded the newspaper that he picked up at the newsstand on the way to the gate and began reading.

A short article about a flight bound for Tokyo the day before that had to return to San Francisco over an hour into the flight caught his eye. The vague account of the reason the flight had to return mentioned that a passenger on board became critically ill making it necessary to return. The loudspeaker announcement was made about boarding his flight and Perry folded up the newspaper and made his way to the ticket agent at the gate.

Within two hours, Perry arrived in Portland and after picking up his luggage at the baggage claim area, he met an escort from his Appeals Court office assigned to bring him to his office. Perry's day was filled with an orientation to his new office area and getting to know his office staff. His meeting with the Court's Chief Justice was very casual but lengthy. Perry was already acquainted with several of the other Justices working in Portland so he was feeling very comfortable in this temporary assignment. He was informed that this assignment would only last for approximately four months.

By four o'clock that afternoon Perry was settling in to his new digs in an apartment located within walking distance of his office. The fully furnished one-bedroom apartment was leased by the government for use by dignitaries and others doing short-term business with the Appeals Court.

After unpacking his suitcases, Perry went into the kitchen area to size-up the cooking utensils and tableware. Planning to eat most of his meals at home, he wanted to make sure that he had the proper tools to prepare a decent meal. He wrote up a shopping list and ventured out to the nearby Safeway grocery market.

Knowing that he would have several opportunities to return to his apartment in San Francisco over the length of this assignment, Perry only purchased the basic cooking essentials. He also stocked up on a variety of meats to be able to prepare simple meals for dinners for the week.

Back in the apartment by five-thirty, Perry unloaded his groceries and started to gather the ingredients to prepare his dinner. While his chicken cacciatore was cooking on the stove, he opened a bottle of Pinot Noir from a local Oregon vineyard. After pouring a glass of wine, Perry made his way into the living room to catch the six o'clock news on the television. He'd have time to watch most of the news in his leather easy chair while his dinner was still simmering.

Most of the local headlines were of the usual topics: crime and politics. After the weather report, Perry was about to return to his dinner when the anchorman began reading the business news. Perry stopped dead in his tracks as a photograph of Velma Thomas flashed on the screen. Grabbing the television remote control Perry turned up the volume to hear the news story.

"In business news today, a federal fugitive from the San Francisco area died Sunday morning of an apparent overdose of anti-depressant medicine. Velma Thomas, age fifty-nine, was a passenger on board a United Airlines flight to Tokyo when she became critically ill. The flight returned to San Francisco and she was transported to a local hospital where efforts to revive her failed. Miss Thomas was an heiress to a real estate conglomerate founded by her grandfather, Harold Richmond of RKT Partners. At the time of her death she was wanted by Federal authorities for several fraudulent business dealings. Her death is still under investigation… In other news, the stock market remained steady today..."

Perry turned the television volume down and rubbed his chin with his hand. After a moment, he shook his head and continued walking back into the kitchen thinking to himself, " _This is just unbelievable_..."

 **TBC**

Kudos to "skysea" and "SuzyQ" for their guesses on Barbara Hale's version of "Put the Blame on Mame" in "The Houston Story" movie mentioned in Chapter Thirteen. Thanks for reading and reviewing. There's still more to come.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **Los Angeles, CA Offices of Arthur Gordon Industries 8am Tuesday, 14 June 1983**

As Della walked into the main entrance to Arthur Gordon Industries at her usual time that morning, she was cheerfully greeted by the security officer on duty in the lobby.

"Good morning, Miss Street!"

"Good morning, David. How are you today?" David was one of her favorite security guards who always greeted her with a friendly smile which she always reciprocated. Della also knew that he was the go-to person for all of the latest gossip in the company.

"I'm good, thanks. I hope _your_ day will go well..." David lowered his voice as Della stopped by his post. "Lots of rumors already going around today… We think some big changes are coming up. The big boss came in _really_ _early_ today – like around three o'clock this morning!"

"Those hours aren't so unusual for Mister Gordon, David. Sometimes he's up all night at his office in his home. He wants to keep up with what's going on worldwide you know..."

"Well what's odd about this is that he sent down a list of names earlier – he has some pretty important people coming for a visit this week. Our orders are to give them the V.I.P. treatment..." David winked at Della.

Della lightly tapped David on his arm with her hand as she began to walk away.

"This company shakes and moves every day, David. It's no surprise to me that he has important people coming in for a visit. I'm sure that you'll treat them all very well. Have a great day."

When Della walked into her office to put her briefcase down and her purse in her desk drawer, she heard Arthur Gordon calling out to her right away from his nearby office.

"Is that you, Della?"

As she walked towards his office, she replied.

"Yes, it's me Mister Gordon. How are you today?"

As he watched Della walk into his office, he pushed a few documents aside on his desk and invited her in to sit down.

"I'm good, Della. Come on in and have a seat… Would you like a cup of coffee? I made some coffee about an hour ago – it's probably not as good as yours, but it tastes okay to me..."

The fifty-five year-old, ruggedly handsome Arthur Gordon rose from his desk chair as Della entered his office. Tall with a thin build, Della noted that his short, dark hair seemed to be turning grayer every day. She always thought that it was probably due to running a company so large.

"Sure, I could use a cup... Do you want me to get it?" Della was closer to the office coffee nook than he was so she offered to get her own coffee.

"No, I've got it. Please sit down..."

Della changed her course and sat down in a chair in front of his desk.

"The security staff downstairs was surprised that you were in so early today. They think there's something big on the horizon..."

Mister Gordon placed a cup of coffee in front of Della before he sat down at his desk.

"It's hard to keep anything secret from our favorite security guard David," he grinned. "I sent down a list of the names of some dignitaries that we'll have visiting later this week. That's probably what got them speculating. And that's what I need to talk to you about. I have a huge favor to ask of you, and if you don't think you're up to this big project, just let me know. I'll understand..."

Della sipped her coffee before saying anything.

"I've had a feeling that you've had something coming up," she smiled. "What do you need?"

Arthur Gordon sat back in his desk chair and clasped his hands together under his chin.

"We're expanding again. Not globally this time, but here in the States. I want to open more offices in Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Chicago… And I can't think of a better person to help me organize these offices than you, Della. Your organizational skills are second to none and getting these offices set up the right way is very important if we want to succeed. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes..."

"I've got to warn you, there will be a lot of travel involved – starting with a week in Amsterdam. It's there that we'll set up our expansion teams and layout the groundwork for this project. When we come back to the States, we'll start with one opening at a time."

Della felt a wave of nervous excitement coming over her.

"Exactly _when_ will this project be set to start?"

"By the beginning to middle of July I hope. There's still a lot of preparation work to accomplish between now and then, so if you don't want to be a part of the expansion project, I'll still need your expertise in putting together our expansion timeline."

Without further thought or any apprehension, Della let him know that she was on board to assist with the project.

"You can count on me, Mister Gordon. This sounds like it's very important to you – especially to be able to compete worldwide _and_ locally. I'd love to help out any way that I can..."

Arthur Gordon smiled and nodded his appreciation.

"Thanks, Della. I'm glad that I can count on you!"

After the meeting with her boss, Della returned to her office and sat down to contemplate her decision to take on such a big project.

" _I really need a change of atmosphere. This will keep my mind off of things for a while… I'll be busy and in my down time, I can_ _think_ _through this situation with Perry… Yes – I think I've made the right decision_ ," she finally convinced herself.

She spent the rest of her week closing out old projects to ready herself for her latest undertaking. Della also found time to set up another appointment with Doctor McRae to share this latest development.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Downtown Portland, OR 9am Tuesday, 28 June 1983**

Into the second week of his assignment to the Appeals Court in Portland, Perry was all alone in the law library sitting at a table when one of his law clerks came in. Perry looked up from the book he was reading to greet the clerk.

"Good morning, Steve. I didn't expect to see anyone else in the office today. I thought that all of the clerical staff are attending training today."

"You're right – but the morning training session isn't necessary for all of us, just the afternoon session is mandatory. I have something to research in here before this afternoon." Steve paused. "Do you have any big plans for the day?"

Perry closed his book and put it aside.

"I just plan to catch up on some reading this morning and use the rest of the day to take in some of the local sights..."

"It's a good day for that! Great weather we're having. Where do you plan to tour?"

"I haven't quite figured that out yet. What do you recommend for a walking tour?"

The law clerk joined him at the table.

"A nice walking tour depends on what you're interested in seeing. If you want to write down some of these places on your notepad there, I think I can suggest a few notable places to keep you busy all afternoon..."

Back in his office a little while later, Perry studied the suggestions made by the law clerk and plotted out the rest of his day. He left his office around eleven o'clock and after buying a light lunch from a nearby street vendor, he began walking around to check out some of the tourist spots on the list. His first stop was a visitor's center where he perused several brochures of local attractions.

Downtown Portland had a variety of entertaining options for sightseers. Perry couldn't help but wonder about how nice it would be if Della were with him to visit the area. He sighed and collected a few more brochures before leaving on his walking tour.

From the Pioneer Courthouse Square visitor's center, he wandered quite a few blocks to find the Oregon Historical Society building. After looking at several exhibits in the museum, Perry made his way up to the library area to read more about things he had seen in the museum. Later when he stopped for a cup of coffee in the cafe, he reminisced about other museums that he and Della had visited over the years.

" _She'd really like that exhibit_ _here_ _on pioneer women_ ," Perry thought to himself. He went on remembering the delight that he saw in her eyes when she would admire things of beauty – a beautiful woman standing before notable artifacts with a beautiful smile on her face. He shook his head knowing how much he missed his beautiful girl and gulped down the rest of the coffee in his cup.

After his afternoon coffee break at the Historical Society Museum, Perry made his way over to the Portland Art Museum. After touring the featured displays in the Art Museum, Perry lost track of time in the bookstore and had to check his wristwatch when an announcement was made that the facility was closing at five o'clock.

Once again he thought to himself about the exhibits in the Art Museum that Della would really enjoy seeing. Perry missed the way that she would tug on his arm to lead him to an exhibit or painting that she had adored and anxiously wanted him to see also. He sighed and walked out of the building just before closing time.

Slowly strolling back to his apartment, a small souvenir shop caught his attention. Stepping inside, he began looking at an assortment of postcards displayed on a rack by the checkout counter. It was originally his intent to just look over the local attractions pictured on the cards and plan for future visits to these places. But then an idea popped into his head.

" _Della asked that I not call her, but could a simple postcard with my contact information really hurt? I would hope that she would want to know where I am in Portland just in case she has a change of heart about this separation_..." Without further thought on the idea, he quickly chose a postcard from the rack with a picture of the Art Museum exterior. After paying for the postcard, he walked out and headed for his apartment.

While his dinner was heating in the oven, Perry sat down at the dining room table with the postcard, a tablet of paper, and a pen. Without a lot of writing space on a postcard, he wanted to keep his message brief, but have enough written details on the card to really grab her attention. He rubbed his chin and stared at the ceiling to find the right words to put on the card.

Putting the pen to his notebook paper to rehearse what he wanted to say, he began writing.

" _Hi Della_ …" He quickly scratched that out after thinking that it was too unceremonious. He started again.

" _Hello Della_..." He crossed out that greeting too, and took some time to think it over.

" _Greetings from Portland, Oregon_..." He scratched that out also, and shook his head wondering why it was taking him so long just to figure out a proper way to greet her. Without further hesitation, he finally wrote a greeting.

" _Dear Della_..."

" _That should do it_ ," he thought to himself triumphantly as he wrote it on the card instead of the notepad.

He put the postcard aside and returned to writing on the notepad. For the next thirty minutes he scribbled several outlines for what he wanted to say. Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he eventually composed a brief message highlighting all that he wanted to say and wrote it on the postcard.

On his way into his office the next morning, he put the postcard in the mail.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home Noon Friday, 1 July 1983**

The past two and a half weeks were very busy at work for Della as she began organizing the preparations before the important upcoming trip to Amsterdam. Mister Gordon left town for the long weekend earlier in the day so with her afternoon free, she stopped at her house to grab a bite to eat for lunch. She had an appointment to see Doctor McRae later that afternoon and needed to unload her briefcase at her house before her appointment. As she walked to her front door, she grabbed her mail out of her mailbox before stepping inside the house.

While eating a sandwich and a salad, Della sorted files from her briefcase by laying them out on her dining room table. The long weekend for the Fourth of July holiday began and she did not plan to be in the office for the Monday holiday, so she brought a few things home with her to work on there instead.

Della walked into the kitchen after finishing her lunch and cleaned up her dishes. It was after one o'clock and she still had about an hour before she would meet with Doctor McRae. She sat down at her kitchen counter and sorted through her mail. The junk mail was placed to the side to throw out later, and the bills were set aside to pay later on. At the bottom of the pile, she found a postcard with a photo of a building on it. Almost tossing it in the junk mail pile, she quickly looked on the other side of the postcard and immediately recognized a message in Perry's handwriting. As she felt her heart rate increase and overcame a lump in her throat, she began reading the postcard.

" _Dear Della_ ,

 _I've been in Portland for two weeks now and finally found some free time to take in the sights. I toured this Art Museum today and thought about how much you would enjoy this place. I hope you are well. If you want to contact me, here is my phone number in the office and at my apartment. I miss you._

 _Love, Perry_."

She put the postcard down on the counter and looked away. When her heart rate returned to normal, she picked up the card and read it again. She lightly bit her lower lip after reading it three more times.

" _Why do I get so worked up when he writes to me or when I talk to him_ ," she wondered. " _I hope that Doctor McRae can maybe explain tha_ t." Della reached for her purse and put the postcard inside to bring along to her therapy session.

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 2:15pm Friday, 1 July 1983**

Due to the hot weather outside that afternoon, Doctor McRae offered Della iced tea to enjoy instead of coffee for this appointment. After they were both seated in their usual places with their cold beverages, Doctor McRae opened up the session.

"It's been a few weeks since we last talked. How are you, Della?"

Della shifted in her chair and smiled.

"I'm doing fine… Just fine..."

"Is there anything new since we last saw each other?"

"Well, I've been very busy at work lately. I've agreed to take on a big company expansion project for Mister Gordon. We'll be traveling to Amsterdam soon to begin laying out the project. I'm rather excited to help with this." Della's smile faded away as she continued. "It keeps my mind off of Perry and this latest _separation_ situation..."

Doctor McRae noted the change in Della's facial expression. "What do you mean by saying this _'latest separation'_?"

Della looked down and away as she replied.

"I suppose I mean that our first time apart – a sort of separation – came about when Perry left for his appointment to the Appeals Court..."

"Oh… I see… Well let's talk about that for awhile. Does that sound all right with you?"

Della lightly bit her lower lip and gripped her hands together on her lap.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to talk about that… It wasn't very easy to deal with that life-changing decision at first..." Della then lifted her chin up and rapidly blinked her eyes. "I think Perry's decision to take the appointment was made before he even discussed it with me… That's what irked me at first..."

After taking a sip of her tea, Doctor McRae sat back in her desk chair and folder her arms across her chest.

"Well, let's go back to that time… You mentioned that it was several years ago, right?"

Looking up towards the ceiling to figure out where to begin, Della nodded and started her story.

"Yes… It _was_ several years ago – March of 1977 to be exact..."

 **Malibu, CA Perry and Della's Home 1pm Saturday, 12 March 1977**

Della looked up from her houseplant transplanting project when she heard Perry and Junior entering the house from the attached garage. She listened in as the boys were having a verbal disagreement. Junior was apologizing.

"I said I'm sorry, Perry. Just give me another chance… Please?"

As Perry continued walking into the kitchen area he noticed Della pressing down new potting soil in her planters. He continued speaking to Junior.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, Paul." Perry set the car keys down on the kitchen counter near Della. "Maybe Della can take you back out. She has nerves of steel!"

Della interrupted the both of them as Junior joined them in the kitchen.

"I'm guessing that the driving lesson didn't go very well today..."

Junior began to answer but was cut off right away by Perry's louder, gruff voice.

"Driving lesson? If that's what you want to call it! Everything that he's been learning in his high school's driver's education classes went right out the window when he spotted a group of young ladies walking by on a sidewalk. He nearly hit a line of parked cars as he began waving and whistling at them instead of paying attention to the road! And to make matters worse, he nearly rear-ended the car in front of us that had slowed down for the stoplight! A sixteen year old male with an overactive libido behind the wheel of an automobile! He's a chip off the old block, alright – always an eye out for the ladies which distracts him from the task at hand..."

Junior shrugged his shoulders and tried to make his case to Della who was looking at him with her usual smiley and sassy stare.

"It wasn't as dramatic as that, Della… I just gave a quick wave and whistled to a couple of girls from my math class as we drove by. I saw the car in front of me and slowed down right away. I wasn't even close to hitting any parked cars..."

Perry begged to differ.

"I nearly went through the windshield because he had to slam on the brakes so hard… Maybe _you_ can teach him the part about paying attention to the road…" Perry changed the subject. "It's barely after one o'clock and I could already use a stiff drink after that _driving lesson_..." He made his way to the liquor cabinet.

Junior still tried to further defend himself and asked for another chance.

"Look, if I promise to drive strictly by the book, will one of you give me another chance? Please? I have my road test coming up next week and I really want to pass it on the first try..."

Della gave in.

"I'll make a deal with you, Paul. If you go to your room and study the driver's manual for an hour, I'll take you out for a test drive later this afternoon. I want to finish taking care of my houseplants right now."

Junior was delighted with that proposition.

"Thanks, Della. I'll be in my room studying hard. Let me know when you're ready!"

Perry closed the door to the liquor cabinet and made his way into the kitchen. He took a lowball glass out of the cupboard and filled it with ice from the freezer. While he poured bourbon over the ice, Della rinsed her dirty hands in the sink and joined him at the kitchen counter where he was sitting and sipping his bourbon. She gently rubbed his shoulders to soothe his nerves.

"Are you really that upset with Paul's driving or is there something else on your mind?"

Perry innocently looked up from his glass.

"What do you mean about ' _something else_ ' on my mind? We haven't had any major court battles in a couple of weeks. Things have been pretty mundane around the office. What makes you think I have something else on my mind?"

Della walked towards the living room while answering Perry's question.

"Hold that thought..."

She returned with the Saturday newspaper and sat down next to him at the kitchen counter. Della opened the paper to the political section and placed the paper in front of Perry.

"Maybe _this_ has been on your mind..."

Perry perused the paper in front of him and read to himself the bold headline of the article that Della had circled in red ink.

" _Confirmation Proceedings Begin for Perry Mason's Appointment to the Federal Appeals Court_."

Without reading any further, Perry took a big gulp of his bourbon after moving the newspaper aside.

"I was going to talk to you about this on the weekend..."

"It's the weekend..."

Perry stood up and turned away.

"I didn't think they'd make a big deal out of this so fast… I was approached by them about a week ago when they asked if I'd be interested in an appointment to the Federal bench. I told them at the time that I would have to think it over. I – uh – just didn't expect them to move on this so quickly..."

"According to the article, you have already accepted the nomination and the confirmation process is already underway..." Della arched her brow waiting to see how he'd explain that.

He turned back to her to put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"Well then I suppose that we better discuss this now. What are your thoughts on all of this from what you've read in the paper?"

Della stood up and clasped her hands together around the back of his neck.

"You've probably earned a position like this. I think you'll make a very good judge. I shouldn't stand in your way if this is what you really want..."

"There's always a chance that they won't accept my nomination..."

Della chuckled softly and rested her head on his chest.

"Fat chance of that, Counselor..." She paused. "When will you know for sure?"

Perry held her closer, lightly stroking her soft hair with his hands.

"It could be as soon as next week..."

Della stepped back away from him.

"I suppose there will be a lot of things to do in the office between now and when they make their announcement." She turned away from him before continuing. "This means that you'll be moving to San Francisco, doesn't it?"

Perry moved over to her and put his hands back on her shoulders to gently turn her towards him.

"Yes I'll be in San Francisco, but we'll all be moving there… Won't we?"

"So we'll uproot Paul from high school and relocate him to San Francisco where he won't know a soul? Is that really such a good idea right now, Perry?"

Perry thought it over.

"Kids can adjust… He's pretty outgoing. He'll fit right in with a new group of friends. Kids these days do that really well… Why don't we think about this some more – after we hear something more official?"

"You're the boss..."

By the end of March, Perry's nomination was confirmed and he would be sworn in on April the eighteenth.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 2:45pm Friday, 1 July 1983**

Doctor McRae poured more iced tea into their glasses as Della finished the story of Perry's appointment to the Appeals Court.

"So obviously the plan to move everyone to San Francisco with him didn't work out. What happened to that plan?"

"We compromised. But only after a few little quarrels in discussing any move to San Francisco. We decided to let Paul remain here to finish his junior and senior years in high school. Paul was a high-achiever and very involved in the high school band. So I stayed here to close up the office by working with a few of Perry's trusted associates. We had a few civil actions to take care of that didn't need Perry's expertise. We were able to close out all of his criminal cases before he left. But closing a law office with so many clients was not an easy task. It took several months anyway."

"In the meantime, you and Perry made time for each other with weekend visits?"

"Yes, but even that wasn't so easy sometimes. But we managed. And we'd arrange for long vacations together – sometimes with Paul along, other times without."

"And while closing the office, you also had to manage the household and take care of Paul during that time..."

Della chuckled.

"I managed the household all right! Even during the big wildfire back in 1978! I think that was right after Paul began his senior year in high school – October I think… The windswept wildfire came roaring towards our home in Malibu. It was a serious situation when we were told to get things together to evacuate. When I got home, I could see the flames growing in the hills and heading towards us. When Paul got home, we grabbed what we could fit in our cars and got out. We ended up at a church where they set up an evacuation center and I was able to call Perry. When it became apparent that this fire could go on for days, he arranged for us to stay at a nice hotel in Santa Monica."

"I remember that wildfire. A lot of homes and businesses burned. What happened to your place?"

"After the evacuation order was lifted, we were able to go back into the area. Our home didn't burn, but the smoke damage was horrendous. Everything inside – furnishings and appliances were ruined. We couldn't live in it. A few days later when Perry made it back here, the insurance adjuster told us that the place would have to be completely gutted. At that point, we bought the condo in Sherman Oaks and sold the place in Malibu after is was repaired."

"You really took on a lot of responsibility staying back with Paul and taking care of the day-to-day household chores..."

"Yes, I guess you could say that I had a lot to do when Perry went to San Francisco..."

Della sighed and looked at her wristwatch.

"I suppose we should call it a day. I'm really glad that you could fit me in today, Connie. The big holiday weekend is upon us..."

Doctor McRae looked at the clock on the wall and agreed that it was time to wrap up this session.

"Finally a nice, long weekend. Do you have any big plans?"

"I plan to get a few things done in my house to start the weekend, then on Monday, the fourth, I'm going to watch a parade at my friend Jeanne's home. In addition to her home in Bel Air, she has a nice condo overlooking the parade route – and her grandson is marching in the parade. We all get together with a potluck lunch to watch the parade and catch up on all the latest gossip!"

"That sounds like a good time… Is Jeanne one of your close friends?"

"Yes! As a matter of fact she is! I think it's time that I told my friends about my separation from Perry..."

Della suddenly remembered the postcard in her purse from Perry.

"Oh! Before I go, I just have one more thing to talk to you about." She brought the postcard out of her purse. "Perry sent me a postcard… Here, read it for yourself..." She passed the card to Doctor McRae.

After reading it, Doctor McRae handed it back to Della.

"He's basically just letting you know where he is and how to contact him… Are you going to call him?"

"I'm not sure… That's why I thought I'd ask you about it…"

"I don't see any harm in calling him just to let him know that you received the postcard. You can use that call as an opportunity to let him know that you'll be traveling a lot for work. Don't you agree that he should know that?"

"I'm not so sure about that. If I tell him I'll be traveling for my job, I don't want to be looking over my shoulder wondering if he's going to show up unexpectedly just to see me… I just can't trust him to stay away right now..." Della sighed.

"Well, it's up to you if you want to call him. I don't think it will hurt..." Doctor McRae changed the subject when she saw Della's angst. "Shall we try to set up another appointment before you leave for Amsterdam?"

"Absolutely! I'll probably come up with a million things to talk about with you before I go."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Condo of Jeanne Cooper 1pm Monday, 4 July 1983**

Her dear friend Jeanne welcomed Della into her condo with open arms and a big smile.

"It's so good to see you, Della! Come on in! Jo just got here a few minutes ago!" She gave Della a big hug.

"Oh thank you, Jeanne! It's so good to finally meet up with you girls – I just wish you would have let me bring something besides this dry red wine..." Della walked further into the home where her friend Jo Stafford was already there arranging snacks on a table.

"Get over here and give me a hug, Della," Jo fondly demanded.

Della put her wine bottles down and greeted Jo with a nice hug.

"It's just so good that we can all get together! I've been looking forward to this for weeks! So will one of you tell me why I had to bring two bottles of this certain type of wine?"

Jeanne spoke up right away. "Because it's the final ingredient that I need for the Sangria that we're having!"

The girls all giggled as they gathered in the kitchen area to fix their pre-parade beverages. The parade was scheduled to begin at two o'clock so they had plenty of time to relax and catch up on the latest things going on in each others' lives. Jo's husband was spending the day fishing with friends, and the divorced Jeanne was looking forward to seeing her grandson march in the parade. Then the conversation shifted to the latest happenings with Della.

With the undivided attention of her friends, Della took on a more serious tone and sipped her Sangria before she updated her friends.

"I've separated from Perry..." Della looked back and forth to Jeanne and Jo to see their reactions. Jo was the first to speak and reached across the table to touch Della's arm.

"Oh, Della. I'm sorry to hear that..."

Jeanne had a concerned look on her face and consoled Della also.

"That's not good… What happened?"

Della shared her story of what she experienced in Carmel while Jeanne and Jo listened attentively. When Della finally got to the part about Perry's postcard, she dug the postcard out of her purse and read it to them.

Jo and Jeanne both asked the same question at the same time.

"Well, are you going to call him?"

After she put the postcard back in her purse she paused before answering.

"I don't know what to do..."

Jo and Jeanne exchanged glances at each other and then Jo spoke up.

"I think you should call him. Like it or not right now, he's still your husband – legally your next-of-kin. God forbid that something terrible would happen to you while you're away for your job."

Jeanne nodded in agreement.

"Even though I'm divorced, I still keep my ex and my kids advised of my unusual travel plans. You just never know if something bad might happen..."

For the rest of the day and even after the ladies watched the evening fireworks, Della received supportive advice from her friends. It was nearly ten-thirty by the time Della got home that night and thought over their advice about calling Perry.

Della sat down in her recliner next to her phone and thought up excuses to avoid calling Perry.

" _It's so late… He's probably not home anyway… I should just wait until tomorrow_ …"

She looked at her watch and thought about it some more.

" _Maybe I should just call his office number and leave a message…_ _If I do that I won't have to actually speak to him_..." She reached for her purse and took out the postcard to look at the phone numbers Perry had written on the card.

Della put the postcard down on the table beside her and continued to think about it. The advise from her friends and Doctor McRae kept running through her mind.

" _Just call him. It can't hurt, Della_..."

She picked up her phone and listened for the dial tone.

 **TBC**

Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Difficulties in real life needed my full attention so this writing hobby was put on hold for a while. Thanks for reading! I really do appreciate your comments and reviews.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

 **Portland, OR Perry's Apartment 10:45pm Monday, 4 July 1983**

Perry spent most of the day in a nearby park taking in the holiday festivities. The carnival-like atmosphere included food, music, and a parade. He made it back to his apartment around eight-thirty so that he could unwind at home for a while before watching a fireworks show at dusk.

He poured a drink and sat out on his balcony awaiting the fireworks while reminiscing about the year before. He and Della had spent the fourth of July holiday in Carmel. After having steaks on the grill for dinner, they had settled on their deck to take in a fireworks show over the ocean. He leaned forward in his chair and hung his head down in shame remembering the day that Della ran out on him in Carmel about two months ago.

The fireworks show was over for about fifteen minutes when Perry finished his drink on his deck and settled into his easy chair in front of the television in his living room. Using his remote control, Perry turned on the television and began searching for an interesting program. He was startled when the phone at his side rang. After turning down the volume on the television, he reached for the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Perry..."

"Della?" Perry sat up straight in his chair and fumbled with the television remote control to turn the television off.

"Yes, it's me… I received your postcard."

"Uh – great! How are you?"

"I'm okay..."

"That's good… I'm glad that you called… I think about you a lot." Perry wanted to keep her talking on the phone to see if he could tell what her attitude would be from the tone of the conversation.

Della wanted to get right to the point.

"Well I appreciate receiving your contact information… The reason I'm calling is to update you a little on _my_ status. I'll be involved in a big project at work which will include a lot of travel – even out of the country. I was advised by my friends that it would be wise for me to let you know this – you know – in case of an emergency..."

Perry took a moment to let her information sink in. He wasn't very happy to hear that she got her friends involved.

"Oh… I understand… So your friends know all about us now, huh?"

"They know that we've separated. I spared them most of the sickening details about why we're apart..."

"I'm sorry, Della. I never wanted for you to go through this… I wish you'd just let me see you in person so we can talk about this..."

Della cut him off so that he wouldn't make this call more of a big deal than it was supposed to be about.

"Just stop right there, Perry! I only decided to call to keep you _legally_ informed of my disposition. I know how you are about keeping everything _lawful_." Right away Della felt a twinge of regret for her sharp verbal attack on him.

Perry backed down right away.

"Okay… I get it… But you're wrong about my needing everything to be legal… May I just ask _where_ you'll be traveling to?"

"I'll be leaving for Amsterdam on Sunday the tenth for at least a week. After that, I'm not sure where the job will take me, but it should be somewhere stateside..."

"Hmmm. That sounds exciting for you. You've always taken on challenging projects. I hope this works out well for you… How will I be able to contact _you_ if _I_ need _you_ in case of an emergency?"

Della thought about it for a moment before she gave him her home phone number and began a very stern lecture.

"I just want you to understand that this is for _emergencies_ only. I don't want you to call me at work. I'll do my best to let you know where I am. I'll also be in touch with Paul. I'm still not very comfortable with our situation and I really _do_ need time away to think about our future."

Hearing that serious oration, a subdued Perry accepted her terms.

"I understand completely, Della. I'm grateful that you've called and I'll respect your need to take the time to think this through. You know how to get in touch with me when you're ready..."

"Thank you. Well that's the reason I called. So goodnight, Perry."

Even though he was disappointed that she didn't want to talk anymore, Perry took her hint that the call was ending.

"Goodnight, Della…" Perry paused briefly before adding, "I love you..."

The phone call was disconnected by Della and Perry wasn't sure if she heard anything else that he said after "Goodnight Della". He slowly exhaled a sigh, bowed his head down, and rubbed his forehead with his hand.

As Della was hanging up the phone, she faintly heard him say "I love you" before the call was disconnected. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she wondered if she would ever be able to face him to hear his story about what really happened between him and that woman in Carmel.

As she grabbed a tissue to wipe away her tears, she wondered to herself, " _Why did he stray? Did I drive him away from me by not going with him to San Francisco_?"

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 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 3:30pm Friday, 8 July 1983**

As Della entered the waiting room of Doctor McRae's office, she only had to wait a few minutes before Doctor McRae welcomed her inside.

"I'm so glad that you could squeeze me in so late on a Friday, Connie. I leave for Amsterdam on Sunday and I could use some advice before I go away."

"It's not a problem at all, Della. I have fresh lemonade today – or coffee if you prefer..."

"Oh! Lemonade sounds wonderful, Connie."

While Doctor McRae walked over to get the lemonade, she started the session the way she normally does.

"You look fine today, Della. Is there anything new that you want to share since we saw each other last Friday?"

Della accepted the glass of lemonade from Doctor McRae before she replied.

"You'll be pleased to know that I took your advice… My friends had the same advice that you did, so I called him last Monday night..."

"How did that go?"

"I think it went okay. I figured that he would suggest that we meet in person, but I managed to cut him off and explain that I'm still not ready for that. I told him that he should know my whereabouts in case of emergency… And then I also gave him my home phone number so that he's not tempted to call me at work."

Doctor McRae was encouraged after hearing that.

"You've done the right thing, Della."

"I hope so. My friends both agreed that he is my next-of-kin and if something should happen to me while I'm away, he should know about it..."

"Your friends are right. I'm glad that you called him. How do you feel now that he has your contact information?"

"So far, I feel good. I let him know that this was strictly for emergency purposes only. He agreed to honor that request…"

"Well I hope that it works out the way that you want it to…" Doctor McRae changed the subject.

"So, on our last visit, we were talking about how your life changed when Perry left for the Appeals Court job. We barely touched on how you adjusted to that having to care for Paul Junior and deal with the household. Somehow you ended up taking the job at Arthur Gordon Industries. How did you come across the opportunity to work for Arthur Gordon?"

Della thought back to that time before beginning her story.

"Well, while I was closing the law office, I still found time to work with the various charities that Perry and I were always involved with. At one event, Arthur Gordon approached me and asked if I would be interested in helping him with a fundraiser for a foundation that he was trying to set up. By the time that opportunity came up, I had a lot of free time so after thinking about it and talking it over with Perry, I accepted the job. It was only part-time when I started."

"He must have been very impressed with your work on his charity. Is that when he hired you full time at his company?"

"Umm hmm. It was all right after the Malibu fire back in 1978. He asked me to work as his private secretary as part of his company reorganization plan and philanthropic endeavors. A few years later, I became his personal assistant..."

"And in the meantime, Perry stayed in San Francisco. What was Junior doing?"

"Eventually Paul was in college – here at UCLA studying business administration."

"He had no desire to become a lawyer?"

"Not at all. He told Perry and I that he was going to become a Private Investigator – just like his father. As a matter of fact, I was still a little involved with the Drake Detective Agency back then. I occasionally managed the day-to-day operations of the office until one of Paul Drake Senior's operatives took over."

"Oh, I see. You held on to the Drake Detective Agency for Paul to eventually take control of, am I right?"

"That was sort of the plan. Since Paul wanted nothing to do with being a lawyer, he studied how to run a business and added criminology type classes."

"That worked out well… Was Perry disappointed that Paul didn't want to become a lawyer?"

"I've always wondered about that… Before Perry left for the bench, he taught a lot of law classes at various colleges – here and around the region. He's a very good teacher. When we still worked in the law office, he gave several lectures and seminars to law students and other lawyers. Most of that was through the Bar Association. Paul attended some of those lectures when he was in high school, but I guess being a lawyer just wasn't in his plans..."

Della sighed and then chuckled before she continued.

"Perry and I had a minor quarrel one night – about _me_ becoming a lawyer..."

Doctor McRae was really interested in hearing more about that.

"Really? When was that?"

Della thought back in time trying to remember the situation and when it occurred.

"It was back in the mid-sixties I think… We were working on a very complicated murder trial at the time..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Perry's Apartment 3am Tuesday, 17 August 1965**

Perry quietly walked into his dark bedroom and tried to put on his pajamas without waking Della. When he crawled into the bed, Della stirred and snuggled in close to him as he settled under the bed covers.

"What time is it, Perry?"

"Three o'clock..."

Della stretched out her arms and legs and then cuddled back into him.

"Where have you been?"

"I've been reading..."

"What could you possibly be reading until three o'clock in the morning?"

"Case law… What else?"

Della sighed. "Don't tell me… Connor versus California, Smith versus Ventura County, and Wilson versus California..."

Perry was surprised that she was correct about what he'd been reading.

"You left out Jones versus California..."

"You don't need Jones versus California. Hamilton Burger won't be challenging your evidence for the defense..."

Perry moved away from Della and turned on a lamp by the bed.

"You're a walking, talking, living, breathing, human law library! How do you know all of these things?"

Della reached over Perry and turned the lamp off.

"I've worked for a brilliant lawyer for many years… It's my job to know those things. Now get some sleep. We've got to be back in Court in less than six hours..."

Perry was still amazed at her legal knowledge.

"I'm sending you to law school starting next semester..."

"Oh no you're not… Now let's get some sleep..."

"You'll be top of your class. I'll bet that we can even get you credit for a few courses just by testing out of them. You'll graduate early..."

"I'm not going to law school, Perry. I'm fine with the job I have… Now go to sleep..."

Perry pushed on.

"After you graduate, we'll change our office to Mason & Mason… If you want, you can take on some of the minor criminal cases right away. When you feel comfortable with that, I'll be your assistant on an actual murder trial."

Now frustrated with Perry's thoughts of sending her to law school, Della had enough and raised her voice.

"Stop it, Perry! I do _not_ want to go to law school! If you don't want me as your secretary anymore, why don't you just say so?"

"But you can be _more_ than just a secretary, Della… Think about how successful we'd be as a team of attorneys!"

This time Della sat up in the bed and turned the lamp on.

"I can't believe you just said that! Saying that I 'can be _more_ than just a _secretary_ '! You probably have no idea what I do as _just your secretary!"_ She laid back down in the bed and quickly turned away from him as tears of hurt formed in her eyes.

Perry instantly realized that he had said the wrong thing and tried to console her by placing his hands on her shoulders to turn her back towards him.

"I didn't mean it that way, Della. I _know_ what you do as my secretary – and you do it better than anyone else can… I just thought that..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Della moved further away from him and cut him off.

"Well now I know what you _really_ think! Go to sleep, Counselor! I'll help you find a new secretary tomorrow!" A teardrop left her eye and soaked into her pillow.

Perry tried to lay his hands on her again to apologize and she shrugged him off again.

"I'm sorry, baby… I pushed that law school thing way too far… I don't want anyone else as my secretary. We work so well together… I don't know where I'd be without you – and without Paul… Will you please forgive me?"

Della remained still and held back her tears.

"End of discussion, Perry. Goodnight!"

Perry reached up and turned off the lamp but didn't want to end their discussion.

"We've always said that we'd never go to sleep angry and right now I know you're angry with me… Can I at least have a goodnight kiss?"

"I'm tired… Go to sleep, Perry!"

He still wouldn't give up.

"Please? Just a kiss goodnight?"

Della finally relented, turned back towards him, and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

She tried to turn away, but Perry stopped her.

"Hey, girl… That wasn't a very good kiss goodnight..." When he heard her sniffle, he gently pulled her towards him to lightly kiss her forehead.

"I'm really sorry Della." He reached over to the nightstand table and grabbed a tissue.

"Here's a tissue. I'm sorry that I made you cry… I never wanted to make you cry..."

Della took the tissue from his hand and wiped her nose and eyes. When she tried to turn away again, Perry stopped her.

"Please don't turn away again. Will you accept my apology?"

When he didn't get a reply, he tried again.

"Can we at least go back to that goodnight kiss again? Please?"

Della had to think about it for a moment before she moved towards him and covered his lips with hers – this kiss more to his satisfaction.

Perry returned her kiss with more passion and held her closer before they broke away from the kiss.

"So does that mean that you'll forgive me?"

Still pouting slightly, Della replied.

"I don't want to go to law school – _ever_..."

"You've made that very clear, dear. _Now_ can we kiss and make up?"

Della cuddled in closer to him.

"Next time you feel the need to stay up late and study case law for the next day, will you just ask your secretary what she thinks before you waste half of the night reading?"

"I promise… I would have rather spent that time here with you. Now let's get back to a few more goodnight kisses..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Friday, 8 July 1983**

Della had finished her story and continued sipping her lemonade as she shifted in her chair. Doctor McRae leaned forward over her desk and clasped her hands together on the desk top.

"Obviously Perry thought very highly of your legal expertise – especially as a confidential secretary."

Della looked up towards the ceiling and smiled.

"I really _did_ love my job. It was very challenging sometimes, but we always made it through. He was very good at his job… He did some really amazing things in Court – always seeing that his client was treated fairly by the system. He was so successful..."

Della's smile faded as she looked across the desk at Doctor McRae.

"But he moved on to bigger and better things as a Judge I suppose… He really earned that opportunity..."

"What did Perry think about you going to work for Arthur Gordon? Was he supportive?"

Della looked around the room to find the right words for her answer.

"I think he was supportive – at first. We had both agreed that I would stay here in LA until Paul finished high school. Working for Arthur Gordon was just something I did to pass the time while Paul was in school. But now I wonder what he really thought about me going to work full time with Mister Gordon..."

Doctor McRae continued to listen as Della's facial expression changed when she took a moment before continuing.

"I think there's more that you should know about my phone call to him…"

"Oh? Do you want to tell me about it?"

Della let out a heavy sigh and looked around nervously.

"I got really nervous when I was talking to him and ended the call rather abruptly… I just said 'Good night' and started to hang up the phone after he said 'Good night' – but he also said 'I love you'… I could have brought the phone back up to my ear and acknowledge what he said, but I didn't! I had a good cry after that and began wondering why I've been so terse with him in our conversations." She reached for a tissue on the desk top as tears came to her eyes.

"It's understandable because you're still angry with him and you're hurt..."

Della wiped away a tear but tried to politely disagree with Doctor McRae.

"I'm past being _angry_ with him. I'll admit that I'm very _disappointed_ in him, but that shouldn't mean that I should be so rude to him when we talk… Now I'm wondering if I've always been so curt with him since he left for San Francisco. Maybe I drove him further away by staying here in LA. Maybe he really didn't like that I worked for Arthur Gordon..."

Della quickly changed course to add more about the past.

"When we still worked in the law office together, I encouraged him to jump on the lecture circuit – to teach college classes. Maybe he thinks that I was trying to get rid of him and gain some sort of independence from him. I always thought that by persuading him to do more than just defend criminals in Court, it was my duty as his secretary. But as his wife, I'm not so sure that sending him away was such a good idea. Maybe I'm the reason that he strayed with another woman!"

Doctor McRae saw the agony on Della's face and responded quickly.

"Della, don't _ever_ blame yourself for someone else's bad conduct! There might be several other reasons for Perry to behave the way he did. I'm not excusing him at all for his actions, but some day you'll be strong enough to really _listen_ to him – to talk to him _face to face_. That's when there will be progress in resolving this separation..."

Della raised a hand to her brow and looked down.

"I still love him, Connie… I really _do_ love him… Why couldn't I stay on the line and tell him that? I heard him say that he loves me… He sounds so remorseful but I can't tell if he's really being sincere or if it's just one of his verbal tricks that he's famous for. I just don't know if I can ever forgive him for carrying on with another woman – and in our private hideaway of all places!" She slowly shook her head and wiped away another tear.

"That's why you're here, Della – talking about your troubles, looking for advice on how to understand why you feel the way you do… Of course you still love him, Della. You've been with him most of your life… But his actions that you came across unexpectedly have caused you an enormous heartache. One way that you can begin to heal that heartache is to talk about your feelings and try to make some sense of them. I think you're coming out of your anger stage and to me, that's progress – not a whole lot of progress, but a start nonetheless. Am I making any sense?"

Slowly nodding her head in agreement, Della waited a moment to respond.

"You're making a lot of sense. I think that I still need time to think about this and work it out in my mind. Maybe that's why I'm so excited to take on an important new project at work. I'll be away from here for a while – there will be nothing to distract me. In my free time, I can reflect on all that's happened and determine whether or not this relationship is worth saving..."

Doctor McRae leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.

"You want to work this out or you wouldn't be here looking for advice. You've come a long way in just over a month… So if you're interested in returning I'll recommend some things that you can ponder in your free time…"

Without hesitation, Della made it clear that she wanted to return.

"Oh, there's no doubt that I want to come back! If it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be with this situation… What are you recommending for me between now and our next session?"

"First of all, don't blame only yourself for what has happened. There are so many variables when couples are dealing with a long distance relationship. You're both living in different worlds with different things happening every day. Communication breaks down when you don't see each other in person every day. So in your free time – if you actually have some with this new work project – think about the things that held your relationship together before Perry took the job with the Appeals Court. You both were probably very comfortable with each other and communication was easy."

Della agreed about how well they used to communicate.

"We made time for each other – especially at the end of the work day… We didn't always see eye-to-eye on some things, but we compromised a lot… It wasn't always easy debating serious issues with him. He'd always win..."

"And right now that's what you're afraid of – debating with him and thinking that you won't win. You have the upper hand now, Della. It's okay to take your time figuring out how you want this to turn out."

After setting up another appointment for later in the month, Della left Doctor McRae's office with several things on her mind. She was beginning to feel a little better knowing that somehow she was going to work this out and get the courage to meet Perry face-to-face.

Doctor McRae brought out Della's case file to write down some notes on the session. She was pleased with the progress Della was making and wondered how long it would be before Della would meet with Perry. If there was any chance for them to reconcile, Della would definitely need to meet Perry in person.

She began writing her notes. "No significant changes, but some progress coming out of her anger stage. It's time to get her to think about how her relationship was in the beginning. Romance might be the key." Before she closed the file, Doctor McRae underlined _romance_.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 5pm Friday, 8 July 1983**

Knowing that time for meeting with friends in San Francisco for the weekend would be tight, Perry quickly unpacked his bag at his apartment so that he could get to the Bohemian Club later. His flight from Portland to San Francisco was delayed a while, but he would easily make it to a social hour event by six o'clock. It was his intent to fly to San Francisco, then drive back up to Portland after loading up his car with his fishing equipment. Not having his car available in Portland was no longer an option for him. He wasn't looking forward to the roughly ten hour drive back up to Portland on Sunday, but he really wanted his car. It would be nice to get away and go fishing in his free time.

He was surprised when the phone in his apartment rang. As always, he was hoping that it was Della.

"Hi Perry! I see you finally made it back to San Francisco!"

It was John Wilburn calling.

"I just got in a while ago, John. I'm going to get my clothes changed and I'll be at the club shortly..."

"Take your time, Perry. Old Motor Mouth Johnson is planning one of his dull speeches at the start of our event tonight. I thought that I'd warn you ahead of time..."

"Thanks for the heads up! It'll be good to catch up with you and hear all about the things that have been going on at the club. Save me a spot at your table..."

Perry made it into the club by six-fifteen and found the table where John and two other club members were seated. "Motor Mouth Johnson" was rambling on about club membership and a proposal to increase annual dues when Perry got seated at the table. A waiter took his drink order right away.

John leaned in towards Perry and quietly greeted him.

"Good to see you Perry! I wish someone else would take over as club treasurer when the next elections are held. This guy needs to go!"

Perry grinned and nodded in agreement.

The event that night was scheduled as their Summer informal dinner meeting. It was usually poorly planned because it was held just after the fourth of July holiday and attendance was usually low. That gave the club's elected board members an opportunity to grandstand and recommend changes in the club's policies to their advantage. But there weren't enough members in attendance for a quorum, so no changes could be voted on. Perry was just glad to be back in San Francisco and get an opportunity to talk to John Wilburn in person.

After dinner, Perry and John made it into the bar area to talk privately. They each ordered a drink at the bar and found their usual table away from the crowd.

"So how are things going in Portland, Perry?"

"They're about as boring as the Appeals Court here… Since they're not a main branch of the Appeals Court, the cases are pretty mundane. At least they're a little more exciting here..."

"And how are things going with Della? I haven't had any calls from you lately..."

"I'm still trying to work this out with her. There's not a lot to say… I actually _spoke_ with her on the phone last Monday night. She's really busy with her job right now and called to tell me that she'll be traveling a lot for work… She still won't meet with me in person, though."

John finished packing his pipe with tobacco and lit the pipe.

"That's encouraging – uh – that she called..."

"I suppose… But she started talking that _legal_ stuff again... I get really nervous when she says that I want things so lawful all the time… When she does that, I think she's leaning towards filing for divorce..."

"Why do you think that she might want a divorce?"

"Because there's a lot of hurt and anger in her voice…" Perry took a big gulp of his drink.

John slowly exhaled his pipe smoke.

"I'd say that she's still in that anger stage… It's only been what – almost two months? Have you been able to tell her your whole side of the story yet?"

"No… And that's not something that I want to talk about with her over the phone… She doesn't stay on the line very long as it is… She gets right to the point of her call and bam – that's it – the line is disconnected..."

"Be patient, Perry… Give her the time and space that she wants… She'll come around eventually..."

As they left the club that night, Doctor John Wilburn thought that maybe it was time for him to intervene a little more to help Perry. Letting Perry talk about his troubles and just listening to him while giving advice to be patient was not moving things along very well. He was already thinking of a plan to bring Perry and Della back together. It was going to take some time, but if his plan was going to succeed, he would need some help. He wasn't going to share this plan with Perry just yet, but instead he was going to make some phone calls of his own.

 **TBC**

Thanks for staying with the story. Thank you for all of your comments and reviews – all are welcome.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

 **San Francisco, CA Office of Doctor John Wilburn 9am Monday, 11 July 1983**

Doctor John Wilburn made a long distance phone call from his office and was on hold listening to calming, spiritual-type music waiting for his call to be answered. It was less than a minute before the call was answered.

"Good morning. This is Archbishop Corro speaking..."

"Good morning to you, Your Excellency! This is John Wilburn calling from San Francisco..."

"Well hello Doctor Wilburn! How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty good – and that's a lot better than our friend Perry is doing..."

Stefan Corro became very concerned hearing that Perry was not doing well.

"Oh my goodness! Is he sick or injured? I haven't talked with him in a while..."

"Physically he's okay… But he sure is beaten down mentally where it concerns Della..."

"Has he been able to see her in person yet? The last time I saw Perry, we were trying to write a letter to her. That didn't go over very well… He sure is repentant over this whole situation. What's the latest?"

"Well without divulging _confidential_ information that he's been sharing with me, he's tried to convince her to meet with him but that's not an option – at her request. As of this past weekend when I met him in San Francisco, he's progressed to the point of only getting her home phone number to actually speak with her. She's going to be doing a lot of traveling for her job and she thought that she better keep him informed of her whereabouts in case of an emergency..."

"Well bless her heart… She's a smart lady, but her heart is broken… Ever since the first day I met her, I just knew Perry had found his soulmate. He truly adores her and she would do anything for him..." He sighed before continuing.

"I think it might be time for some sort of divine intervention with these two..."

John chuckled but agreed.

"If anyone can arrange a _divine intervention_ , it's you! What do you have in mind?"

"This calls for drastic measures. I think that I'll have to see her in person somehow… You say that she'll be traveling for her job?"

"Yes. According to Perry, she's involved with a big expansion project at work and I believe she'll be in Europe for part of this project. After that, I have no idea where she'll be. I don't think Perry knows either..."

"Hmm… Well Paul Drake might know more… I hate to involve him in this, but I think if I can talk to that young man, he'll be willing to help me out..."

"And you know that _I'll_ also do anything to help Perry and Della..."

"Of course we all want to get them reunited – the sooner the better… Give me your direct number, John. I have an idea, but I need a little time to work this out…"

"What are you thinking about doing?" John Wilburn was very curious.

"I think that I need to find a way to _accidentally_ cross paths with Della. Paul can help me with that. Once I accomplish a meeting with her, we'll all be needed for the next part of my plan..."

"That sounds interesting so far! You can count on me to help in any way that I can!"

After the men exchanged contact information and promised to stay in touch, their call ended. Archbishop Corro sat back in his chair at his desk and clasped his hands together under his chin. It only took him a moment to think and then he called for his assistant over the intercom.

"Father Michael? Would you please find a phone number for Mister Paul Drake in Los Angeles for me?"

The response over the intercom was immediate.

"Right away, Your Excellency!"

" _This might take some_ _set up_ _and some careful timing, but my plan just has to work_ ," Archbishop Corro thought to himself. " _The longer they're apart, the harder it might be to bring them back together_."

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 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Monday, 29 August 1983**

Doctor McRae had over thirty minutes to review the notes that she had written in Della's file before Della arrived for her first appointment since the eighth of July. Two appointments had been canceled prior to this one and Doctor McRae wasn't exactly sure why they were canceled. She figured that either things were going well with Perry, or Della didn't have a lot of free time to come in for a therapy session. As it turned out, it was the latter – Della was very busy with her job.

Della sat down in her regular chair while Doctor McRae brought her a cup of coffee. Although she was feeling exhausted, Della managed a smile as she explained why it had been so long since her last appointment.

"I'm glad that I made it in here today, Connie. I almost had to call you this morning and cancel again, but the problems I faced this morning worked themselves out just before lunch! I'm really sorry if I've inconvenienced you at all."

"Don't worry about it, Della. I completely understand... You look tired, Della. Is it from your job or is there something new going on with you and Perry?"

"It must be the job… The expansion plans for work have not gone as smoothly as we thought they would. I've been to Amsterdam twice already and we'll be returning again later next week. I think that Mister Gordon has bitten off more than he can chew with this project… There are so many technical details to work out on an expansion of a computer conglomerate – you know – with computer systems being involved. But it doesn't always work out that way! We originally thought that we'd be opening an office in Dallas by now. I don't see that happening any time soon – maybe October at the earliest..."

"Well I hope that you're taking the time to take care of yourself during this expansion project."

Della chuckled.

"I've managed to catch up on some sleep on the flights to and from Amsterdam. When we're back here in the LA area, I manage to relax a little at home – especially on the weekends. My gardening keeps me relaxed..."

"Well just make sure that you don't get too overwhelmed by this work project. You still have personal issues to address… Speaking of which, how are things with Perry since we last saw each other?"

"There's really not a lot to say… I've called him to update him on my travels. I've had to leave messages on his answering machine, so I really haven't talked with him directly..."

"Has he returned any of your calls?"

"No – when I left the messages, I've let him know that there's no need to call me back."

"Oh… I see… Do you feel relieved when he doesn't answer your call so that you don't have to speak with him, or are you disappointed that he's not available?"

Della thought about that for a moment before replying.

"You know something? I've never really thought about that… Is it normal to feel relieved _and_ disappointed at the same time?"

" _Normal_ can mean different things to different people, Della. Take the time and think about it before you call him next time… If you're disappointed that you have to leave a message, call again later when you can actually speak with him. But if you feel relief, just leave the message..."

"That makes sense. I'll have to try that when I update him again next week..."

Doctor McRae moved on to the subject that she wanted to cover in this session.

"Well, the last time we met we were talking about Perry leaving for San Francisco and your new job with Arthur Gordon Industries. For today, I want to go back to the time when you and Perry were working together – way before he got the notion to become a judge. It's important for me to hear more about how well you worked together, but also to hear about how well your relationship was working back then..."

Della shifted nervously in her chair and paused to collect her thoughts.

"I don't exactly remember what we've discussed about this before… I think you know some of the story already..."

"I remember that you met during World War II and several years after that, you reunited when he tracked you down in Chicago. From there he coaxed you back to LA to work for him in his law office. Am I right so far?"

"Yes… That's right… It was so exciting working with him. I found him to be very smart – and very fair serving clients from all walks of life. Most often we just happened to stumble into some difficult murder cases. It seemed like everyone who needed a good defense attorney ended up in his office for help. He worked very hard and earned his reputation for freeing his clients from wrongful criminal charges..."

"Of course if _he_ was working hard, you were, too. So what about your free time? You told me that working so close with him for many long hours brought you together romantically. Was it difficult to separate your work duties from your romantic relationship in your free time?"

Della had to think about that question for a while and began gently rubbing her chin with her hand.

"That's a good question. I suppose that I would have to say that it all blended in somehow. I'll have to admit – there was a lot a of celebrating after some of those cases which included more than just our usual dinner and dancing celebrations..."

"Oh? Do you want to give me an example?" Doctor McRae carefully studied Della's facial expression when Della mentioned her dinner and dancing celebrations.

Thinking it over for a moment, Della sighed, gripped her hands onto the arms of her chair, and looked towards the ceiling before coming up with an example for Doctor McRae.

"My goodness… There are so many examples to choose from..."

Doctor McRae noticed the sparkle in Della's eyes and the smile on her face. She was hoping that the romance theme to their session would loosen Della up a little bit.

"Just give me the first example that comes to your mind..."

Della was still smiling and looking towards the ceiling when she began telling her story.

"I'm not sure of the exact date, but I remember that it was before Christmas in 1960… We had just wrapped up a case involving the Mayor of Upton. His secretary, who by the way, was in love with her boss, was accused of killing the Mayor's conniving wife… Anyway, we were in Perry's office discussing bits and pieces of the case with the Mayor and his secretary..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Perry's Office 6pm Friday, 16 December 1960**

With Della standing behind Perry at his desk, Mayor Jim Henderson and his secretary Susan Connolly were discussing some of the details of the case where Perry won an acquittal of the murder charges against Miss Connolly. Perry explained that Miss Connolly would still face minor charges in the case but the prosecutor was going to recommend probation for those charges.

As their conversation of the case was coming to an end, Della broke them away from the case by changing the subject and asking Miss Connolly about her future plans.

"Any plans, Susan?"

"Not for a while," Susan Connolly sheepishly replied from her chair in front of Perry's desk.

After Susan replied, Della turned her attention to Mayor Henderson who was standing next to Susan looking down at her.

"Mister Henderson?"

Henderson looked back to Della and replied right away.

"Oh, my _job_ is waiting for me..." He glanced at his wristwatch before continuing. "And speaking of jobs..."

The Mayor reached across the desk to shake Perry's hand.

"Thank you so much."

Perry stood up to reply while shaking the Mayor's hand and nodding to him.

"Mayor Henderson..."

Susan then stood up and offered her hand to Perry.

"Thank you Mister Mason..."

Perry shook Susan's hand and replied.

"Susan..."

They all said goodbye as Mayor Henderson and Susan Connolly walked out of Perry's office.

Della called out, "Good luck!" as the couple walked out.

Right away, Perry sat down and turned his attention back to paperwork on his desk as a mildly annoyed Della walked around to the front of Perry's desk. She turned her back to him, and leaned on the desk to ask him a question.

"What about us?"

Perry continued to shuffle through the papers and file folders on his desk but replied.

"Plans? I've got some..."

Della looked up towards the ceiling a little dispirited with his business-like reply.

"I'm not talking about our jobs..."

Without skipping a beat, Perry replied.

"Well _I_ am..."

He opened the desk drawer to his left and took out Della's notepad before continuing.

"Here..." He handed Della the notepad and a pencil. "Take a note..."

Della rolled her eyes and turned her head towards him to take the notepad and pencil from his hand. She fully sat down on the desk top and opened the notepad to a new page to begin writing.

With a serious look on his face, Perry began his dictation.

"New French restaurant… Just opened up… Specializes in rack of lamb… Mint sauce..."

Della stopped writing, lowered the notepad, and turned back to Perry as Perry continued his dictation with a big grin on his face.

"...Lyonnaise potatoes… Crepes suzette… Hmmm?"

Della started to giggle as Perry stood up and walked around the desk to assist her off of the desk.

After taking the notepad and pencil from Della, Perry tossed the items back onto the desk.

"Come along, Miss Street..." Perry quickly glanced at his watch. "We have reservations at this place in forty minutes. By the time you close up your desk area and put on your coat, we'll only have about thirty minutes to get in the car and drive to the restaurant..." He gently took her arm to hurry her out of his office.

Trying to walk quickly with him, Della had to practically beg him to slow down.

"Slow down – just a minute. I need to go to the ladies room and fix my make-up before we go. I can't go into a new restaurant looking like this!"

Perry stopped as they made it to his office door. Her impeccable business attire would be more than adequate for dining out. Her dark-colored skirt suit with a striped silk scarf tucked in around her neck was one of his favorite outfits. He quickly looked her over and planted a light kiss on her forehead.

"You look beautiful as always. Let's get going." But he saw the pleading look on her face and gave in to her request.

"Okay. I'll close up in here and you go and powder your nose."

They arrived at the restaurant five minutes before their reservation time and Perry checked their overcoats at the coat check room. The maitre'd gladly escorted them through the crowded restaurant to a secluded table that Perry had requested – ensured of the good table by handing the maitre'd a very large gratuity. The maitre'd assisted Della into her chair and placed menus on the table in front of them. A waiter immediately came to their table and introduced himself with a strong French accent.

"Bonsoir Monsieur, Madame! I am Gerard, your server for the evening. Our specials are listed on the first page of your menu. May I get you something from the bar?" He looked directly at Perry prepared to take the drink order.

"Since we already know that we're having the special tonight, we're thinking of a fine French red wine to go with it. What do you recommend?"

"Oh, oui, Monsieur! Our Chateau de Malleret will go very well with the rack of lamb special..."

Perry looked to Della who discreetly nodded her approval. Perry told Gerard that his recommended wine would be fine.

"Very good, Monsieur. I'll be right back..."

When the waiter left, Perry and Della looked around the busy restaurant. Della was curious about how Perry found out about this place.

"I must say, Mister Mason. You sure know how to find all the best new restaurants. How long has this place been open?" She placed a cloth napkin on her lap waiting for Perry's reply.

"It opened last Friday. I thought about bringing you here for the opening night, but we were so busy on the Connolly case… It's usually better to wait a week or so to check out a new place anyway… What do you think so far?"

"The bustling staff and very few open tables says it all. This place will be a success – but only if the food is good..."

"We'll know very soon if the food is good!"

Over an hour later, they were being served crepes suzette with their coffee. Instead of watching their server prepare the flambé table side, Perry was watching the delight on Della's face as the small flame reflected in her eyes.

After their server left them with their dessert, Perry reached across the table for Della's hand before she could pick up her dessert fork.

"Here… Let me serve you your crepes suzette..."

He gathered a tiny morsel of the sweet delicacy on the fork and slowly lifted it to Della's mouth. As her lips elegantly closed on the fork, he gently withdrew the fork while she chewed and swallowed the dessert.

"Well? Does the meal with dessert meet your approval, Madame?"

"It has exceeded my expectations, Mister Mason… I have a feeling we'll be coming back here in the not so distant future..."

"I think you're quite right, Madame! Next time I'm going to try the Coq au vin!"

"Oui Monsieur! That's a good choice..."

"We'll have to make it a special occasion next time so we can try some champagne with that! If you're free on New Year's Eve, I'll make reservations before we leave here tonight..."

Della smiled at his suggestion after swallowing more of her dessert.

"I'll be sure to let my boss know that I won't be available for any overtime on New Year's Eve..." She winked at him and took another bite of her crepes suzette.

After leaving the restaurant and waiting for the valet to bring their car to the entrance, Perry put his arm around her and gently pulled Della close to him.

"It's a little chilly tonight." He glanced at his wristwatch. "It's still early. Would you like to go out dancing for a while?"

A tired Della rested her head on Perry's shoulder.

"To be honest, I think I'd rather not go out and fight the crowds on a dance floor tonight. May I have a raincheck?"

"A raincheck it is. We have a full weekend ahead of us..."

Their car was pulled up next to them and Perry assisted Della into the car. He got in behind the wheel after generously tipping the valet and they drove off. Della slid over on the seat closer to him to cuddle with him as he put his arm around her. She let out a big yawn and rested her head on his shoulder again.

"You've had a long day, Miss Street. How about a nightcap? We could go to my apartment tonight since it's closest..."

Her eyes were closed as she replied.

"I think a nightcap sounds like a nice ending to a long day. I'm so full from all of that rich French food. And the crepes suzette was marvelous..."

Upon entering Perry's apartment, their overcoats were removed and Della hung them in the closet. Perry turned on a light to make his way over to the hi-fi stereo and put on a Frank Sinatra album before moving over to his liquor cabinet.

"What's your pleasure, Madame? Brandy? Cognac? A little sherry perhaps?"

Della joined him at the liquor cabinet to think about the choices.

"How about the cognac? That should help digest all of that delicious French cuisine..."

"Then cognac you shall have, Madame!" Perry poured the liquor and brought their glasses over to the couch where he proposed a toast.

"To new French restaurants!"

They tipped their glasses together and sipped the cognac. Before Della could sit down on the couch after sipping the cognac, Perry took her glass and placed it on the table by the couch. After placing his glass next to hers, he took her hands in his and bowed his head.

"May I have this dance, Madame?"

"Oui, Monsieur..."

Della curtsied and giggled as she brought her left hand up onto his shoulder as he pulled her in close. While Frank Sinatra sang the Gershwin tune, " _Love is Here to Stay_ ", they danced around a small space in the living room. Four songs later the tempo slowed down when " _Embraceable You_ " was sung. By this time they were barely swaying in each others arms – Della's head resting on his chest, and Perry's face buried in Della's hair.

Before the song was finished playing, Perry was slowly removing the silk scarf from around Della's neck so he could place gentle kisses below Della's earlobe. While she softly moaned, it wasn't long before Perry led her to the bedroom leaving a trail of shoes and clothing along the way.

Their evening of romance continued in the king-sized bed making love for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually Perry rolled onto his side away from Della trying to catch his breath while Della untangled her legs from his. Before laying on to his back, Perry untangled a bed sheet to cover themselves as Della snuggled in close to him laying on her side.

"You sure know how to warm up a cold December night, Counselor… Are you out of breath?"

"As always, Miss Street, you take my breath away..."

When his heart rate and breathing slowed down a bit, Perry adjusted their pillows and held her close. After lightly kissing Della's cheek, Perry spoke again.

"Well? Have I answered your question?"

With her eyes still closed enjoying their intimate togetherness, Della gently caressed his chest with her finger tips.

"Mmmm. What question was that?"

"The question you asked in the office earlier..."

"Mmmm. I don't remember asking any questions in the office earlier..."

"You asked ' _what about us_ '..."

"Ohhh. _That_ question! Yes, Mister Mason. You've answered that question very well! I'm still tingly all over from your answer…"

"Tingly all over as in head to toe?"

"Um hmm. Head to toe..."

"And everywhere in between?"

" _Especially_ in between..."

"Hmmm… So now you won't have to ask such a silly question about us anymore..."

"On the contrary, Mister Mason… You seem to have all of the _right_ answers. And since I just love your answers, I'm going to have to think of several more questions…"

"Just feel free to ask me anything..."

"Okay… What about us? I think that your answer needs repeating," Della giggled.

Perry rolled Della back into the middle of the bed and hovered above her for a moment until he began kissing her neck and moved down to her bare shoulder.

"Oh, you're a sassy girl! Perhaps I can answer your question another way..."

Della brought her hands up around his neck and giggled some more.

"Mmmm. Take your time – I want to _completely_ understand your next answer..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4:45pm Friday, 29 August 1983**

Della was slightly blushing as she finished telling Doctor McRae her story. Still smiling, she took a sip of her coffee before looking to Doctor McRae for any reaction she might have to that story.

"Obviously not every successful court case was celebrated with an ending like that, but you asked for the best example I could come up with… We were very careful about getting the work done before we could enjoy ourselves out of the office..."

"I think that was a fine example of a loving relationship outside of work hours. It shows that you were both devoted to your jobs and each other..." Doctor McRae paused briefly before continuing.

"Was there a lot of flirting in the office between you two? I recall you saying that Paul – uh _Senior_ – was always calling you 'beautiful'. Perry must have been okay with that..."

"Oh yes, he was fine with that. He understood that Paul was more like a big brother to me. Paul knew from the start that I was Perry's girl. But as far as flirting between Perry and I, that was more subtle. There was an occasional peck on the cheek or gentle touches or hugs occasionally, but we were careful about that in the office. There was always more time for privacy and carrying out our subtle flirtations outside of the office when we got home..."

"I'm not trying to sound silly by asking this, but what about your plans with Perry for the future – in the situation you're in with him now?"

Doctor McRae noticed that the blissful look on Della's face went blank right away when she asked about Della's plans. The glow on her face from reminiscing about a romantic moment suddenly turned to an ashen hue.

Della nervously cleared her throat before replying.

"I don't know what I should do, Connie… Part of me thinks I've had enough time away from him to attempt a meeting with him. Then part of me is afraid to see him because maybe I _don't_ _want_ to know his story of being with that woman… That vision of her getting out of our hot tub naked keeps popping up in my head... "

"You're curious about why he was with her, but you don't want to hear his explanation for fear of reliving your hurt… Am I right about that?"

Della looked down at the floor and clasped her hands together tightly on her lap.

"Yes you're right… But why am I so afraid of seeing him? I _do_ want to hear what he was doing with that woman… Sometimes I think that I can't feel any more hurt than I already feel, so why am I putting this off?"

"Only _you_ can answer that, Della. You've had a lot of time to think about this and sometimes too much time can bring up more uncertainty about what you _think_ he'll say."

As tears came to her eyes, Della reached for a tissue on Doctor McRae's desk.

"Oh who am I fooling, Connie? I miss him a lot! I'm not fooling anyone but myself..."

Doctor McRae slowly nodded her head and seemed pleased that her strategy to get Della to discuss her romance with Perry just might be working.

"I think you're right… Do you think that you're ready to meet with him in person and talk this out?"

Della wiped away another tear.

"I hope so, Connie… Maybe this has gone on long enough..."

 **TBC**

My apologies again for the delay in posting. Some of the dialog in Della's story comes from an episode written by Seeleg Lester (one of my favorite endings to an episode). Any guesses for which episode that was? Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all of your comments and reviews.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **Amsterdam, Netherlands Arthur Gordon Industries Branch Office**

 **5:30pm Thursday, 22 September 1983**

Della looked over the seven other employees in the conference room of the company's branch office in Amsterdam. With a smile on her face, she concluded the meeting.

"And with that being said, I think we are finally finished here. You all have your expansion assignments. By the end of next week I'll need to know the names of the employees from your offices that you'll be transferring to Dallas, Texas. Are there any questions?"

The others in the room looked around at each other and there were no questions.

"No questions?" Della paused another moment and there was still no response. "Well, good. On behalf of Mister Gordon, I want to thank all of you for your patience and understanding with the delays in this expansion project. Travel safely back to your home offices. If you have any questions later on, you know where to contact me."

As most of the employees gathered their notes and other meeting materials, they individually said their goodbyes to Della as they left the room. The last two employees, Susan from Brussels and Jillian from Lucerne, stopped and offered to assist Della in straightening out the conference room.

Although she was exhausted, Della graciously declined their offer.

"Thanks, but I can manage this. You girls just go ahead and take care of what you need to do to get out of here. I don't want you to miss your transportation out of town..."

The two women thanked Della again and made their way towards the door while starting a conversation. Della couldn't help listening to the discussion between Susan and Jillian.

"I'm so glad that instead of flying _home_ , I'll be going to Paris tonight," Jillian was saying. "My husband and I are going to renew our wedding vows."

Susan was delighted for Jillian. "That sounds like a good time..."

When Jillian stopped at the conference room door, she mildly disagreed.

"It's not for the reason you're thinking, Susan. We _have to_ renew our vows because I was told that our marriage in France six years ago isn't valid! My husband found out last week that I didn't exactly meet the residency requirement when we were married there. We have the documentation that indicates we're legally married, but apparently the waiver I obtained for my residency requirement was not legal."

"So how can a situation like that be fixed," Susan asked.

Della listened into the conversation with more interest.

Jillian laughed as she and Susan continued walking out of the room. "We just need to take an extended vacation there as residents for about a month and renew our vows in another civil ceremony!"

After putting away a stack of paperwork in her briefcase, Della pondered Jillian's marriage situation. She thought back to her Paris wedding with Perry back in 1960 and recalled that Perry had arranged a residency waiver for her. Wondering if she was married under the same circumstances as Jillian, Della rushed out of the room after the girls.

She caught up to them in the front lobby area.

"Jillian! Do you have a moment?"

Susan and Jillian stopped and turned back to Della.

Jillian looked very concerned. "What is it, Della?"

"I couldn't help but hear your conversation about your marriage in France and that you think it might not be legal. Do you mind if I ask you about that?"

"No, not at all Della. What can I help you with?"

"Well you mentioned the residency requirement..."

"Oh, right. Well as I was saying to Susan, my husband and I were married in France about six years ago. My husband, of course, is French and he met the residency requirement. I'm American so I had to meet a certain requirement by residing in France for a certain amount of time before the marriage could take place. My husband said that he took care of that for me and I didn't think anything of it. But he informed me recently that I missed that requirement by about four days so the marriage might not be valid..."

"Did your husband mention _how_ he took care of your residency requirement at the time?"

"Not really. I only recall that he found a certain legal loophole and was granted some sort of waiver. And he also said something about how difficult it was to get a waiver. Well anyway, we're going to have another ceremony next month just to be sure. We're planning a long vacation there to visit his family so that I'll meet the residency requirement _legally_ this time..." Jillian paused to laugh. "I don't mind going through another ceremony at all – especially if we have another honeymoon afterwards!"

They all laughed and Della thanked them again before Jillian and Susan left the building. Della returned to her office area and began packing up her belongings. She was hoping this would be her last trip to Amsterdam for the expansion project. After she packed away the last things from her desk, she sighed thinking about her marriage in Paris.

" _I wonder what kind of a waiver Perry managed to get on my behalf back then_ ," she thought to herself. " _I better look for those papers when I get back to LA_..."

Della took one last look around the office and gathered her things to leave. There was not a lot of time left before her overnight flight back to Los Angeles and she needed to return to her hotel, gather up her luggage, and check out. Dinner would have to wait until she was on her flight back to LA.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 4pm Sunday, 25 September 1983**

After finishing all of her weekend chores in her home and garden, Della finally sat down in her recliner to relax before making dinner. After returning from Amsterdam, she managed to catch up on her sleep, but was still wondering about the validity of her marriage to Perry. She looked through several boxes of her personal papers and didn't find any documents related to her French civil marriage ceremony.

The thoughts running through her mind about possibly not being officially married to Perry caused her anxiety all weekend. She thought about the situation a lot on her flight from Amsterdam, and even considered setting up a session with Doctor McRae to discuss her feelings about it. What was bothering her the most was that if she was not really married to Perry, it might be easier to move on with her life without him. She just wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do.

" _Oh, who am I fooling_ ," she thought to herself as she stood up to go into the kitchen and start fixing something to eat. " _This whole ordeal is driving me crazy. I need to meet with Perry and find out if our relationship is worth saving… I'll call him tonight and see if he really wants to talk about this in person… And I better make that meeting before I leave for Dallas in October.._."

It was nearly six o'clock before Della finished cleaning up her dinner dishes and returned to her recliner in the living room with a glass of wine. As she began punching in Perry's phone number on her phone, she suddenly felt really nervous. After a heavy sigh, she punched in the last number and waited for him to answer.

The phone rang six times before Perry's answering machine kicked in.

"Hello. I'm sorry that I've missed your call but please leave a message after the tone and I'll return your call as soon as possible..."

Waiting for the tone to leave her message, Della thought to herself, " _He's probably out with that other woman right now. What else would he be doing on a Sunday evening_?" She left her message when she heard the tone.

"Hi Perry. It's me. Uh – _Della_ … Would you please call me when you're available? Thank you..."

She disconnected the call and heaved a sigh of relief that he wasn't home to answer her call. After sipping more of her wine while feeling completely exhausted, she laid her head back in the recliner chair and closed her eyes. Within five minutes she had drifted off to sleep.

 **Portland, OR Perry's Apartment 8:45pm Sunday, 25 September 1983**

It took Perry two trips from his car in the parking lot to bring his fishing gear and travel bags up into his apartment. His cooler contained a few rainbow trout that he caught on his weekend fishing trip to Detroit Lake located a little east of Salem. After putting his gear away and packing the fish away in his freezer, he rubbed the stubble on his face while contemplating taking a shower. That's when he noticed the blinking light on his answering machine which indicated that there was a message.

Right away he sat down in his chair next to the phone and hit the rewind button to hear the message. As always he was hoping that it was a call from Della. His heart was filled with joy when he listened to Della's message.

" _Hmmm. She asked for a call back this time. She hasn't done that before,_ " he thought to himself. After glancing at the clock on the wall, he thought that it wasn't too late to return her call. He quickly punched in her number on his phone.

In her darkened living room, the ringing phone startled Della out of her little nap and she picked up the phone on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi… I hope it's not too late to be returning your call. I just got your message… I was away on a fishing trip for the weekend..."

Della turned on a lamp by her chair and looked at the time. Feeling somewhat relieved that he was away fishing and probably wasn't with that other woman, she was just a little shaken by being awakened from her bad dream. She had been dreaming that Perry _was_ with that other woman and he had announced to her that since he and Della were no longer legally married, he was going to marry that other woman. Her face became flushed and she tried to forget about her bad dream before answering him.

"Uh, no… It's not too late… It's fine," she stuttered.

"You sound a little flustered. Are you okay?"

"Uh, no – I mean _yes_! I'm fine… I'm just not used to answering the phone so late on a Sunday night that's all..."

"Well it's nice to hear from you… I really miss talking to you. Thanks for leaving me messages about your travels… How is your job going?"

Della didn't want to get into a lot of small talk so she thought that she'd get right to the point of her call.

"My job is keeping me very busy. We're starting the next phase of our expansion very soon. So I thought that maybe we could find some time to meet in person – if you still want to do that..."

Perry was thrilled that she finally wanted to meet.

"Of course I want to see you – and the sooner, the better. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there!"

Della grabbed her calendar book out of her purse.

"I see that the second weekend of October has a Federal holiday in it for Columbus Day. Are you available at all that weekend?"

Without even looking at a calendar, Perry agreed to that weekend right away.

"Holiday weekend or not, I'll meet you anytime, anywhere!"

"I won't be available on Saturday that weekend, so let's plan to meet on Sunday the ninth then."

"Okay… Where do you want to meet?"

Della thought it over for a moment. She didn't want to meet at her home or a restaurant. Then it popped into her mind that if they could meet at the condo in Sherman Oaks, she might be able to look around for their marriage paperwork.

"Can we just meet at _your_ condo in Sherman Oaks? Maybe Paul won't be around that day so we can talk alone..."

Perry was a little disappointed that she referred to the condo as just _his_.

" _Our_ condo will be fine… I'll plan on staying there all weekend anyway. I can make sure that Paul will find somewhere else to be on that Sunday..."

"Fine… If something changes and you can't make it, just let me know… Goodnight, Perry."

Before hanging up, Della waited for his reply this time.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you, Della. I love you… Goodnight..."

Before the line was disconnected, Perry was certain that she heard his full reply this time. He noticed that the tone of her voice was different – in a good way. Still upset that she ends their phone conversations so abruptly, he thought that she was just a little more congenial on this call.

" _This meeting could make or break us_ ," he thought to himself. " _I'll do anything to get her back_..."

Della fought back the tears that formed in her eyes. She reached over and turned off the lamp by her chair to sit in the dimly lit room and think about their situation.

" _So he was away fishing for the weekend... Maybe he's really not seeing that other woman anymore… He says that he loves me, but is he really sincere? Well, the moment of truth is coming in just two more weeks_ …"

She reached for her wine and swallowed the rest of the wine in the glass.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Sherman Oaks, CA Perry & Della's Condo ****3** **pm Sunday 9 October 1983**

Wearing a dark-colored sport coat over a neatly pressed button down shirt and dark trousers, Perry checked over his attire in the bedroom mirror. He wanted to look casual, but orderly, for his meeting with Della. He splashed on a little cologne – one of Della's favorites – hoping that she would notice his cologne when she arrives.

Perry was pacing back and forth in the living room of the condo making sure that everything was set for Della's arrival in just about an hour. Paul was out of town for the weekend working on an investigation so he and Della would be alone. He bought two nice ribeye steaks to put on the grill to make for dinner. Walking over to the coffee table in front of the sofa, he checked on a bouquet of flowers in a nice vase that he bought for her. He was hoping that after their discussion, perhaps he could talk her into spending the night with him. He had high hopes that they would end this separation.

His thoughts of reuniting with her were interrupted when the phone rang. He rushed over to the phone to answer it.

"Hello, Perry. I just wanted you to know that I'm running a little behind today. I had to go into the office. Right now I'm waiting on a long distance phone call..."

"That's okay, Della. I'm here just waiting for you. Do you have any idea what time you'll be here?"

"I think that it will be closer to five o'clock now..."

"That's not a problem, Della. We have all night..."

After ending the call, Della thought about his words, " _We have all night_..." Those words hit her like a ton of bricks. A weird feeling came over her – she was feeling skittish about seeing him, but also feeling anxious to work this situation out. She went back to concentrating on the work on her desk in front of her.

By five o'clock Perry was still anxiously pacing around inside the condo. He looked out a window to the parking lot to see if her car was there and occasionally looked out the door to see if she was walking in the hallway. Then at ten minutes after five, he watched out the window as she parked her car and got out.

She was a sight for his sore eyes. From his view, he could only see that her hairstyle was still the same. She was wearing a tan blazer over her burgundy skirt with a scarf hanging loose around her neck. As soon as she pressed the building entry buzzer, Perry was right next to the door release button to let her into the building. Perry opened the condo door and stood in the doorway waiting for her arrival.

He welcomed her at the door with open arms and deeply inhaled her pleasant scent. She stiffened up slightly when she didn't expect his hug.

"Hello Della… You look beautiful as always..." His attempt to give her a light kiss on her lips during his welcoming embrace turned into an awkward kiss on her soft cheek as she turned her head away.

"I'm sorry that I'm so late..." Right away she noticed the manly aroma of his cologne.

He ushered her inside and she put her purse down on a table by the couch in the living room as she removed her gloves.

Right away Perry presented her with the bouquet of flowers in the vase.

"These are for you," he said in a shy way. "It's an assortment of your Autumn favorites..."

She accepted the flowers with a smile and brought them to her nose to breathe in their fresh fragrance.

"Thank you… They're beautiful – and so fragrant..." She walked over and placed the flowers on a table by the door.

"Well I'm just glad that you're here… I've really missed you..." Like a puppy dog, he closely followed her around the room.

Della changed the tone of the conversation.

"Well while I'm here, I need to look for some paperwork – it might be in the den..."

"Oh – of course… If you want to look for that right now, I'll go and fix you a beverage. What would you like to drink?"

While walking towards the den, Della replied over her shoulder.

"If you have coffee, that will be fine..."

"I'll make some right away..." He didn't expect her to want coffee to drink.

Pausing at the door to the den, Della changed her mind when she heard him say that he'd have to make the coffee.

"If you don't have coffee, I'll just have what you're having..."

Perry nodded to himself and went to the bar to pour two glasses of brandy over ice. He brought the drinks into the den where Della was looking through files in a filing cabinet.

"If you'll tell me what you're looking for, perhaps I can help..." He handed her a glass of brandy.

After taking the drink from Perry, Della closed the drawer that she was looking in.

"I don't need any help – but thanks anyway..." She moved on to the desk, sat down on a chair, and opened a drawer.

"Are you hungry? I put together some snacks to nibble on. I also picked up two nice ribeye steaks for dinner..."

Not finding the paperwork for their marriage in the desk drawer, she sighed after closing the drawer and looked up at him.

"I wasn't really expecting to stay for dinner..."

Perry was confused by her aloof behavior and wanted to break the ice.

"Look, this conversation isn't going anywhere… We're tiptoeing around the real reason that we agreed to meet. Why don't we go into the living room and get comfortable so we can both talk about the – uh _situation_ that we came together to clear up?"

"Fine..." Della stood up and walked into the living room and got seated on the couch.

Perry sat down in an easy chair next to the couch and sipped his brandy before speaking.

"I'll start out by apologizing for what happened in Carmel." Perry rubbed his forehead before continuing. "What you walked in on, wasn't supposed to be happening…"

Della sat back on the couch and folded her arms across her chest listening to Perry while he stammered through his story.

"It's true that I had a _guest_ in our home, but it wasn't for what you were thinking..."

Shaking her head, Della wanted to get right to the point.

"What exactly do you think I was thinking, Perry? You came out of _our_ bedroom wearing only a pair of swimming trunks while _your_ naked _guest_ was calling out to you climbing out of _our_ hot tub! Exactly what was I supposed to think?"

Slapping his hands onto his knees, Perry suddenly stood up and began pacing. After heaving a heavy sigh, he continued his story.

"Okay… Let me explain… I met that woman in San Francisco earlier that week. She presented herself as a very well-to-do philanthropist and wanted me to be the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for her charity… I invited her to Carmel for the weekend so we could work on that project. It was very poor judgment on my part to invite her there… I even had her all set up in the guest bedroom. But while I was fixing something to eat in the kitchen, she climbed into the hot tub in our bedroom..."

"And the only way you thought that you could get her out of there and send her back to her _guest_ bedroom was to join her in the tub? I'm not buying this at all, Perry!" She reached for her brandy to take in a big gulp.

Perry stopped pacing and sat down in the chair again. With his head hung down, he ran his fingers through his hair trying to figure out a better way to bring out the details of his involvement with Velma Thomas. He needed to come clean with Della if he wanted any chance of fixing the relationship that he broke.

"I've got to get all of this off my chest, Della. I'm not very proud of what I've done, and I'll be very honest with you about this..."

"I'm listening..."

"This _woman_ , showed up in my office one afternoon under false pretenses. She conned her way into a meeting that I was attending and announced that we had met at a fundraiser a few months before. She was trying to meet with me to talk about another Children's Cancer fundraiser… So, we had dinner later that night discussing the fundraiser that she was in charge of planning. What I didn't know at the time was that she was a big fraud and con artist just trying to use me to influence an upcoming court appeal that her company was involved in..."

Della rolled her eyes.

"What's her name?"

"Her name was Velma Thomas..."

" _Was_?"

"Yes, _was…_ She's dead..."

Della's raised brow indicated to Perry that she really didn't believe that Velma was dead. He got up from the chair and went into the kitchen to retrieve a folder. Upon returning to the living room, he opened the folder and brought out newspaper clippings of stories about Velma Thomas.

"Here… You can read it for yourself…" He sat back down in the chair when Della opened the folder.

"She was Federally indicted on several charges of fraud, embezzlement and other assorted money schemes. When the Feds were closing in on her, she tried to flee the country but died of an anti-depressant overdose on an airplane..."

Della briefly glanced through the news articles and put them back in the folder. Sensing that he was hiding more details of his entire relationship with this woman, she tossed the folder onto the coffee table in front of her.

"You're presenting this information like defense exhibits in a criminal trial… I'm not interested in her guilt or innocence of her criminal activities… I'm wondering what you saw in this woman to bring her into _our_ home as a guest and play around with her in our hot tub..."

Once again Perry rubbed his forehead and knew that he was going to have to completely come clean about his affair with Velma Thomas.

"There's more to the story..." His voice became quieter as he continued. "Like I said before, I met her in my office a few days before I brought her to Carmel. We had dinner the night that we met. I have to admit, I really enjoyed her company – at first. Then, I think it was a couple of nights later – I went to her home for dinner..."

Perry paused and stood up. Turning away from Della, he continued.

"After dinner, we had quite a few drinks and I – uh… I uh... slept with her..."

Perry quickly turned towards Della to see her reaction. She just stared into her glass of brandy with a blank look on her face.

"I didn't stay the whole night… When I felt awake and sober enough, I left in the middle of the night… She called me the next day and we both knew that it was a mistake – that it shouldn't have happened. I wanted to slow things down and change the course of our relationship, but for some reason, I invited her to Carmel for that weekend." He rubbed his forehead again.

"I don't know what I was thinking, Della. It seemed like you were set on staying in LA that weekend, and I was set on going to Carmel." He knew that by bringing up their miscommunication for that weekend it was not going to go over very well, so he steered away from dwelling on it.

"I really thought that I could just go away for the weekend with her to work on that fundraiser and she agreed that we needed to just be friends involved in a business relationship. I really believed her at the time, but when I found out that she had set me up all along, it was too late! And now here we are..."

Della calmly listened to his story. Her facial expression remained stoic, but inside she was completely crushed.

When Perry tried to sit down next to her on the couch, she leaned away.

"I'm so sorry, Della… Please say something..." He reached for her hands, but she quickly brought them to her chest away from him.

She finally looked him in the eye and her ire came out in her words.

"How _could_ you do this to us!?"

When Perry reached for her again, she stood up and moved away from him.

"I need to go now..." She quickly walked towards the door gathering her purse on the way. Perry moved right with her and beat her to the door.

"Della, please don't go… I really want to work this out… There's so much we have to talk about…"

Facing the door, Della put her hand on the door knob to open it and Perry held the door closed with his hand.

"What's left to say, Perry? You met a woman who charmed your pants off and slept with her all within less than a _week_! That doesn't leave a lot to talk about!"

"But it _does_! I made a big mistake..."

Before he could say anymore, Della cut him off. She calmly looked up at him, but even the pleading look in his sad, big, blue eyes didn't soften her reply.

"I've recently had some thoughts about the legality of our marriage in France. Now I no longer have to wonder about whether or not we really _were_ married. Now I can concentrate on getting out of this relationship on the grounds of infidelity!" She turned and faced the door again waiting for Perry to remove his hand from the door.

Perry took his hand off the door and gently grabbed onto her shoulders.

"Please don't go, Della. I beg you – please don't leave me..."

Without looking back at him, Della opened the door and calmly walked out.

She showed no emotions at all on the short drive to her home. In a daze, she walked into her house and calmly sat down in her recliner. When she felt the tears coming to her eyes, she opened her purse to grab her handkerchief. Before she could bring the handkerchief out, she painfully began crying. Thinking back to the despondent look in Perry's big blue eyes as he begged her to stay, she began sobbing uncontrollably.

Perry sat alone and quiet in the darkened living room of the condo thinking back on his disastrous meeting with Della. Her hints of ending their marriage on the grounds of infidelity kept running through his mind. He knew that he had hurt her badly and had no idea of how he was going to ever regain her trust.

By eight o'clock, he decided that he was really going to need some help. He turned on a lamp by his chair and picked up the phone.

Doctor John Wilburn wasn't at all surprised by Perry's call and wondered what was happening with Perry and Della. Perry threw him a curveball when he calmly asked John if he was free the following weekend.

"First I better ask my wife if we have any plans, but what do you have in mind, Perry?"

"I know of a great fishing spot just west of Portland, John. How would you like to join me next weekend?"

John immediately knew from the tone of Perry's voice that the proposed fishing trip was not the real purpose of Perry wanting to see him.

When the arrangements were finalized for the fishing trip, Perry ended the call and hung up the phone. He reached up and turned off the lamp by his chair and sat alone in the darkened living room.

 **TBC**

Thanks for staying with the story. The comments and guesses about the episode mentioned in the last chapter were much appreciated. RBHDPSMMK4EVER had the correct episode – TCOT Larcenous Lady. I appreciate your patience in waiting for each chapter to be posted. As always, all comments are welcomed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 8am Monday, 10 October 1983**

Doctor McRae was just unlocking the door to her waiting room as Della came off of the elevator and quickly walked up to the door.

"I'm so glad that you could see me so early, Connie. Thank you for being here before your normal office hours. I'm just a mess this morning!"

Doctor McRae immediately noticed the bags under Della's bloodshot eyes. It was so uncharacteristic for Della to appear so disheveled. She would help Della calm down and before letting Della leave for work, she would be sure that Della looked completely presentable.

"It's no problem at all, Della. I would have met you last night if you wanted. You were so upset when you phoned me last night..." Doctor McRae made her way further inside the room and turned on the lights.

Della followed her into the waiting room.

"Like I said last night, I was in no shape to meet you. It was just comforting to know that I'd be able to see you today with such short notice..."

Doctor McRae unlocked the door to her office.

"Why don't you just go inside my office and make yourself comfortable, Della? I'm going to open the blinds in the waiting room here and then I'll go in and make some coffee..."

"Oh please, Connie. I can make the coffee. You're doing such a big favor for me. You just take care of opening your office..." Della made her way over to the coffee maker.

Within five minutes, they were both seated in their usual chairs with their coffee cups for the session to begin. Doctor McRae noticed Della's quiet but nervous demeanor as Della sat in her chair. Her elbow was resting on the arm of the chair, her arm bent up to her head with her fingertips lightly touching her lowered forehead.

"You look very troubled today, Della. What happened last night? All that I could hear between your sobs was that you saw Perry in person..."

Della slowly nodded her head and her eyes were fixed on the floor with tears beginning to form.

"Yes we met last night – at the condo in Sherman Oaks..." Della reached for a tissue on Doctor McRae's desk before continuing.

"I thought that I was ready to talk over this situation with him… But apparently I was not!" She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tissue to stop the tears from running down her cheeks.

"What was it that you were not prepared for?"

Della finally looked up directly at Doctor McRae.

"His _confession_! His actions with that woman were worse than I thought!" Della lowered her head again and softly began sobbing.

Doctor McRae stood up and walked over to the water cooler to get a glass of water for Della.

"Here, Della. Drink some water… It's okay to let out this emotion."

Della drank some of the water and then reached for more tissues to wipe her eyes and nose.

"I'm sorry, Connie. Like I said before, I'm a mess..." Della sipped more of the water.

After blinking back more tears, Della let out a big sigh and started speaking again.

"I don't know what was worse – hearing him tell me that he was actually more than an acquaintance with that woman or hearing him admit that he brought her to our home in Carmel just to slow down their _affair_!"

"I can see why you're so upset if he admitted to an affair… Let's break his story down bit by bit so I can get a clearer understanding of what he said and did."

Della slowly nodded and drank more water before continuing.

"I'm probably not making any sense. My thoughts are so jumbled right now..."

"It's okay to just say what comes to your mind when you're upset, Della. It doesn't matter that your thoughts are not organized. It's my job to sort through what you're saying and then give you advice to cope. If I'm slowing you down to ask questions and clarify something, it's not meant to confuse you – it will only help you..."

Still slowly nodding her head, Della continued.

"I see what you're saying. I'll just start from the beginning – maybe that way I'll be able to cover everything he said…"

"Okay… Go on..."

"Paul was out of town so we agreed to meet at the condo – alone. Perry met me at the door to give me a hug and wanted to kiss me, but I turned away. At the time, I was still a little leery of his intentions so he ended up kissing my cheek…"

Della continued to wipe away her tears.

"Why I was so distrustful of his embrace? It's only natural that he would greet me with a hug and a kiss. It was so unlike me to brush him off..."

"You just answered your own question. You were uncertain of his intentions and still bothered by what you experienced in Carmel… You put your defenses up."

Della paused to think it over.

"I suppose you're right..."

"Well what happened next?"

"When I got inside the condo, he gave me a bouquet of flowers. I had to quickly put them aside – and I didn't even give him the satisfaction of showing him how they really made me feel. I didn't even read the card he had attached to them..."

Della relaxed a little by shifting in her chair and sipped her coffee before proceeding with the story.

"Oh – I almost forgot! I wanted to look for our marriage certificate and paperwork related to that before we got into any discussion of the Carmel situation. So I went off into the den to look in our filing cabinet and desk drawers. He poured us some drinks and followed me in there. Well, I didn't find the papers..."

"Hold on a second. What was the purpose of trying to locate your marriage certificate?"

"That's another story. I'm sorry that I'm jumping around with this story. I just can't get my thoughts organized because I'm so upset..."

"That's okay, Della. Just take your time. So let's go to the part about the marriage paperwork..."

"I just wanted to see all of the documents related to a waiver for my residency requirement to be legally married. It's something that came to mind when I was in Amsterdam and another co-worker was mentioning her situation under similar circumstances for her marriage in France. I was having my doubts about even being legally married to him! Anyway, it's not important right now…"

"Well I think it's important. It's a significant part of your relationship. You've been together a long time, Della. And technically, there are Common Law marriage rules here in California that might be applied to your situation…"

Looking up towards the ceiling and thinking about that for a moment, Della agreed.

"I guess that I never thought of Common Law marriages. I'll have to research that..."

Doctor McRae got her back on track.

"Okay… So you didn't find the marriage paperwork and now you can think about Common Law marriages later. What happened next with Perry? Did you tell him what you were looking for?"

"No, I didn't tell him. Anyway, he was saying that he was prepared to make dinner for us and I told him that I wasn't expecting to stay for dinner. He then suggested that we just sit down in the living room and talk."

Della had to take a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.

"Right away he apologized for upsetting me by being with that woman in our home in Carmel. He went on and on about how he met her and finding out too late that she was just using him to get favorable consideration for an upcoming Court appeal that her company was bringing before his hearing panel. Anyway, he had her at our home that weekend to relax and supposedly plan a fundraising event with her..."

"So if his intentions were _businesslike_ what was up with the hot tub scene?"

"He _claims_ that the hot tub scene was just part of _her_ set up! Oh – and I forget how we got on this subject, but he told me she's dead! She was wanted by the FBI for fraudulent business practices. When they were about to arrest her, she overdosed on a plane trying to flee the country and she died..."

Della brought her purse up to her lap and anxiously took out a notebook.

"I wrote this all down this morning. I did a little snooping of my own to check out his story and sure enough – she was a wanted criminal and _did_ die of an overdose – just like he said. And she's had a long history of using rich, powerful men to either blackmail them or fill her bank account with millions of their dollars. She was the granddaughter of a San Francisco real estate tycoon and she squandered away the family fortune. As I looked this stuff up at five o'clock this morning, the more I understood how he could fall for such a scheming woman..."

"So now that this woman is dead, what do you think of that? She's not going to be a threat to you and is not in his life anymore."

Slowly putting her notes on Velma Thomas's life back into her purse, Della shook her head.

"Knowing her devious background, it's fine with me that she's dead. No, she's not in his life anymore, but it still doesn't take away the pain that he's caused me. His story gets worse..."

"I see… Are you ready to talk about it?"

Without hesitation and a blank look on her face, Della got back to her story.

"He admitted that he'd only known this woman – Velma Thomas was her name – for a few days. Anyway, he went to her home for dinner one night. He said that after dinner they had several drinks and one thing led to another..." Della hung her head down and rubbed her forehead. "Then he _slept_ with her!"

Doctor McRae remained silent and waited for Della to continue.

After reaching for another tissue and sipping the rest of her water, Della quietly went on with her story.

"Oh, he tried to downplay the fact that he had sex with her – he said that when he was awake enough afterwards, he got up and left in the middle of the night. He was hinting that he was drunk – and I've _never_ seen him so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing! He's not like that! Well after that disclosure, I'd heard enough! I felt crushed and completely humiliated. He sat down next to me and tried to hold me and all I could do was try to find a way to leave. I leaned away from him and said something like, ' _How could you do this to us_ '? Then I told him that I needed to leave. He ran after me and tried to keep me from going out the door pleading with me to stay and talk. But there wasn't anything left to talk about. That's when he said that he made a big mistake with that woman..."

When Della fell silent, Doctor McRae interjected.

"Did he get physically abusive with you in trying to keep you from leaving?"

"No… He's not like that at all. But I'll say one thing – he got to me emotionally when I turned and looked at his face before I walked out the door. I looked up into his big blue eyes and saw that he was possibly hurting, too. Now I can't get that sight out of my mind… I no longer see the haunting vision of a naked woman climbing out of our hot tub – I see his crestfallen blue eyes and drooping face. The problem for me with _that_ is not knowing if he's showing regret and true sadness, or if it's something else… The look in his eyes sometimes can mean so many different things. That's what's confusing to me… How can his eyes say so many different things the same way?"

"Only you can answer that, Della. You're the one who's endured his ups and downs. You're the one that's spent so many years soothing his sorrows and sharing his victories..."

Della wiped away another tear.

"Ha! And I'm the one he cheated on…" She rubbed her forehead again. "Why me? How does this happen?"

"I'll offer you this to think about… From my experience in counseling couples for several years now, I've found that there are usually two main reasons that a spouse will admit to being unfaithful. One reason is to spitefully rub it in to their spouse hoping that the relationship will end. And that's most often a way to get revenge for the other spouse's infidelity or just to hurt their spouse. The other reason someone will confess to an affair is to come clean – to be completely honest to regain trust and try to salvage the relationship. I'm sure that there are many other reasons out there, but from what I know about you, I can only get you thinking about those two main reasons… Which reason do you think it is in your situation?"

Della sighed before quietly answering.

"He wanted to be honest with me..." She lightly blew her nose before saying more. "That's probably what I saw in his sad eyes…

"Probably. Only you can interpret that..."

"I don't know how to handle all of this… Never in a million years did I think that he'd do that. I think that up until he told me the whole story, that he would have some clever excuse for being with that woman and my worst fears would not come true. But now it _has_ come true. He _slept_ with another woman! I don't know how I'll ever be able to face him again..."

"You're going to need some time to think about these new developments again. I'm just concerned that your job might get in the way..."

"My job keeps me busy in a good way, Connie. At the end of the work day, I'm too tired to fret over this situation with Perry. As a matter of fact, we're going to be opening our Dallas office beginning in two weeks. I thought about that last night, and I think it will be good for me to get out of town again and concentrate on this expansion project..."

Della looked at the clock on the wall.

"And speaking of my job, I really need to get going, Connie. I need to set up for a meeting by ten o'clock…" Della stood up. "Thank you for seeing me so early this morning. I feel much better now talking to you about this. My day will go much easier now – and with fewer tears!"

"I'm here whenever you need to talk, Della. Now before you go, why don't you get fixed up a little bit? There's a bathroom in the waiting room. You can freshen up your make-up and wipe away those tears before you go into work..."

Della took her compact mirror out of her purse and took a good look at her face.

"Oh my goodness! I really _am_ a mess this morning! Thanks for taking care of me today. I better go and primp myself..."

"Just one more thing, Della. Please come back soon when you have some time. I'd really like to see you again before you go to Dallas..."

A smile finally came to Della's face.

"I will call later today and schedule something for later next week. I know that I'll need more advice from you before too long… Thanks again, Connie."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Portland, OR International Airport 8am Saturday, 15 October 1983**

Perry stood at the gate and anxiously awaited the arrival of Doctor John Wilburn's flight from San Francisco. He paced back and forth by the gate until the aircraft taxied into place and the passengers began walking off. John was one of the first passengers off of the plane and Perry walked up to greet him right away.

"Thanks for coming up, John! You won't regret taking a whole weekend to experience some of the best fishing the area has to offer..." He shook John's hand.

"Well I didn't really have anything else to do this weekend. Betty had plans to go shopping with her sister, so fishing sounded like a much better idea for me…"

Noticing the carry-on bag in John's hand, Perry wanted to know if he had any other luggage.

"Do we need to go to baggage claim or do you have everything packed in that carry-on bag?"

John patted the bag with his hand.

"This is all I need, Perry. I'm only here for the weekend you know..."

"Great! Let's get out of here. We can be wetting a line in about an hour!"

The drive to Henry Hagg Lake west of Portland took less than an hour. Doctor Wilburn was expecting Perry to start talking to him about any new developments in his situation with Della, but all that Perry spoke about was rainbow trout, the layout of the lake, and the best fishing tackle to use for catching fish. After making a quick stop at a bait shop for information on the best fishing spots, they finally made it to their fishing destination.

Doctor Wilburn studied Perry's facial expressions and body language for several hours while Perry continued to speak only about his latest fishing expeditions in Oregon. When they finally took a lunch break at the One Horse Tavern, Perry went on and on about the good food in the place.

"I've had the steak sandwich here. Best I've had in a while. I like small places like this in small towns, don't you? Sometimes you find the best food in places like this..."

Nodding in agreement, Doctor Wilburn began looking at his menu.

"I'm sure everything is good here. I'm pretty hungry. With all the talk of your fishing trips, I thought for sure that you were going to make me eat a shore lunch out on the lake!"

"No, but when we catch our limit today, we can head back to my apartment and I can fix you a nice fish dinner!"

Their waitress arrived and took their food order. As soon as she left, Perry went right back to talking about fishing.

"Fishing is almost the same all over – as far as lakes and streams on land. But deep sea fishing is a whole different thing. I can't figure out which fishing scene I like better… If I have a lot of time off, deep sea fishing is more relaxing for me. But for a quick weekend like this, I think we're in the right place. Tomorrow, if you want, we can try putting our lines in the Willamette River."

While they ate their lunch, Doctor Wilburn continued to wonder why Perry was avoiding any conversation about Della. Perry was showing all the signs of someone who was troubled by something, but just wouldn't start talking about it. He would have to wait for an opportunity to change the subject. Lighting his pipe after they finished eating, Doctor Wilburn finally found that opportunity.

"It appears to me, Perry, that fishing has been taking your mind off of other things going on in your life. You haven't mentioned anything about your job – or anything new in your situation with Della..." He carefully observed Perry's reaction to the mention of Della's name.

Perry continued to avoid discussing anything except fishing.

"Getting out and enjoying my free time is all I can do right now, John. The job is going fine. I've been told that I'll be back in San Francisco before Christmas..."

Doctor Wilburn got right to the point.

"Why did you call me and ask me to come here this weekend, Perry? We haven't gone fishing in over a year! There's something else on your mind, so why don't you just start telling me why you really want me here?"

Perry sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"It's that obvious, huh?"

Doctor Wilburn slowly exhaled his pipe smoke.

"It is. Your non-stop lecture about fishing in Oregon isn't fooling anyone. So what's going on with you and Della?"

Perry unfolded his arms and clasped his hands together on the table.

"I've lost her, John. We met in person in LA last weekend and she walked out on me. I came clean with her – told her the whole story of my involvement with Velma Thomas. She didn't take it very well and left in a huff." Perry unclasped his hands and rubbed his forehead.

The waitress appeared at their table and Doctor Wilburn asked for the check before turning back to Perry.

"Now we're getting somewhere! Listen… We've got two nice rainbow trout in the cooler. What do you say we get the heck out of here and get back to Portland? You can tell me all about this as you make dinner and I pour us some bourbon!"

Back at Perry's apartment, the dinner preparation was delayed while they sat in the living room to drink bourbon. Perry finally opened up about his meeting with Della.

"I've always thought that if I was completely honest with her, she would sort of understand and we would be able to talk more about it. Boy was I wrong about that! She was furious with me. I suppose I got what I deserved when she walked out..."

"Did she say _anything_ before walking out?"

"She only shook her head and ask me how I could have done this to us..."

"She's still hurting, Perry. I know that you wanted to be truthful, but she might have been expecting to only hear about your encounter with Velma in Carmel. But knowing you, I'm guessing that you didn't give her the opportunity to let that story sink in before you admitted to sleeping with Velma."

Perry leaned forward and rubbed his forehead again.

"I wasn't thinking clearly. I wanted to get it all off of my chest and then discuss how much I regretted this whole thing, but she fell silent and walked out. I figured out later that for some reason she had been looking for our marriage certificate. And the only reason I can think of for that is that she's really going to leave me! She might be thinking of a divorce!"

Doctor Wilburn packed tobacco in his pipe knowing that it was going to be a while to hear all about Perry's meeting with Della and leave time to give Perry some advice on the situation.

"Did Della actually give you any hints about divorce? Why would you think that just by her search for marriage paperwork that she was going to call it quits?"

"I don't know, John. I've been thinking the worst since she walked out. I only know that she's excited about her job – and traveling. She doesn't want to take the time to work this out." He sighed before continuing.

"I really ruined everything we had by going to the Bench. I had obligations back in LA and I failed to take care of them. On his deathbed, I promised Paul Drake that I would _always_ take care of Junior. When I left for San Francisco, that suddenly solely became Della's responsibility. I could have waited to move on to a future job with the Appeals Court, but I didn't! Della supported my decision to take on the Appeals Court saying that if I didn't move up on an opportunity like that, I'd be second-guessing myself for the rest of my life. All I know right now is that it was bad timing and I failed in my promise to Paul!"

Perry stood up and began pacing in the living room.

"Why did I leave a good thing in LA? I stayed busy taking on criminal cases and teaching law classes – but for some reason I wanted more. Maybe it was an ego thing..."

"Well that was then and this is now, Perry. You can keep beating yourself down thinking that moving to San Francisco so abruptly was a mistake, but now we need to find a way to fix this."

"Becoming a Judge was a small mistake as compared to getting involved with that damn deceitful Velma Thomas! I let my guard down getting involved with her and now my life is ruined!"

"You're right. And now we need to find a way to fix this. Sit back down and finish your drink, Perry. We've got a lot to talk about..."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Denver, CO Office of Archbishop Stefan Corro 9am Monday, 17 October 1983**

Doctor Wilburn was on his office phone back in San Francisco waiting on hold to speak with Archbishop Stefan Corro. The call was connected right away.

"Hello, John. I hope you weren't waiting too long..."

"Not at all. I'm just glad that you could take my call."

"What's the latest?"

"They met face-to-face recently. Perry confessed everything. It didn't go over very well with Della. She walked out on him."

"Oh dear! That's not good at all. Tell me exactly what you know, John."

Doctor Wilburn told Stefan Corro about his weekend counseling session with Perry. When they finished their call, Stefan Corro put in a call to Paul Drake Junior.

Paul was actually in his office to take the call.

"I was wondering when you were going to call Padre. Things between Perry and Della have not been going well at all lately."

"That's what I've heard. What do you know about this?"

"I only know that they met at the condo on the ninth. I was conveniently out of town for their meeting and Perry had returned to Portland before I got home Monday morning. I noticed a huge bouquet of flowers by the door with a card attached to it. I hope it wasn't a sin, Padre, but I happened to read the unopened card from Perry to Della. It simply said 'I love you, Della'. Naturally I was curious about why the flowers were still there with an unopened card attached to them, so I got a hold of Della. I met her for dinner on the eleventh and brought along the bouquet. At first she was a little standoffish about taking the flowers, but accepted them eventually. We never discussed anything about why she left them at the condo. She wouldn't discuss anything about seeing Perry."

"Well I think I need to put my plan into action – and right away. What do you know about her travel plans for work?"

"I only know that she's leaving for Dallas on Sunday the twenty-third. She'll be there until Friday the twenty-eighth."

"Good work, Paul. Where is she staying?"

"Oh right! She'll be at the Fairmont Hotel."

"Thanks, Paul. I'll take it from here. I'll be in touch soon!"

When they finished talking, Stefan immediately got on his intercom to summon his assistant.

"Father Michael, would you please come in here?"

Father Michael entered Stefan's office and was given his assignment right away.

"I need you to find a seminar for me to attend in Dallas next week. I'll arrange my travel and hotel accommodations at my expense, but you need to find a seminar that the diocese will be willing to send me to."

It was only twenty minutes later when Father Michael returned to Archbishop Corro's office.

"I found an interesting conference for you, Your Excellency. There's a three day Global Christian Leadership Summit being held in Dallas beginning on Monday the twenty-fourth. It's at the Fairmont Hotel."

After hearing the details and location of the conference, Stefan looked up towards the ceiling and silently praised the Lord.

"That's a good sign, dear Lord. There will truly be a divine intervention in Dallas next week!"

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading and your continued patience for my posting delays. I'm finally recuperating at home from a minor medical issue so I am back to working on this now. I really appreciate your comments and reviews on the story.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Friday, 21 October 1983**

As Della was reaching for the door handle to enter Doctor McRae's waiting room, the door was pulled open inward as a man was starting to walk out. Della stopped suddenly and immediately recognized the man trying to leave as he also quickly stopped. He stood aside to hold the door for her. It was the man who scowled at her the very first day that she came to see Doctor McRae. But instead of scowling at Della this time, he smiled and politely gestured for her to enter accompanied by a friendly greeting.

"I've got the door for you. Please come in, ma'am..."

Della smiled and nodded to the man as she walked into the waiting room and he walked out after she passed him.

" _Whatever he's seeing Doctor McRae for, it sure seems to be making a_ _positive_ _difference for him_ ," Della thought to herself as she made her way to the office receptionist.

Before Della could be seated in the waiting room, Doctor McRae appeared at her office door and asked Della to come into her office and be seated while she had a word with her receptionist.

It was only a minute before Doctor McRae got back into her office and offered Della a beverage before starting their session. Della gladly accepted a cup of coffee while Doctor McRae settled for a glass of water.

Doctor McRae got settled into her chair at her desk.

"You look a lot better today, Della. How have you been since we last saw each other?"

Shifting slightly in her chair, Della had a faint smile on her face as she replied.

"I'm doing fine, Connie. Just fine..." Della paused for a moment before adding, "I've been so busy at work that it keeps my mind off of my troubles. And I'm okay with that..."

"That's nice… But I hope that you're not working so hard that you let your feelings for Perry get too muddled up inside. It _is_ okay to take time away from your job to think about what you want to do with your relationship..."

"Oh, I find time to think about things. I still don't know what I want to do… I _will_ call him later this weekend before I leave for Dallas. I think I told you that I'll be going there next week for getting an expansion office opened, didn't I?"

"Yes you did mention that… But has anything else gone on with you and Perry since you met with him in person?"

Della shifted nervously in her chair.

"No… I don't have any reason to speak to him – uh, except to let him know that I'll be in Dallas all of next week. I _have_ seen Paul since I was here with you the last time, though..."

"Oh? How did that go?"

"It was fine… We had dinner but I didn't discuss the meeting that I had with Perry… Paul brought along the flowers that Perry had given me at the condo. I'd forgotten all about the flowers. When I got home after dinner, I read the card that Perry had attached to the bouquet. It – uh – simply said, 'I love you, Della' signed 'Perry'..."

"What was your reaction to the card?"

Della looked down towards the floor before replying.

"I was a little annoyed actually. Did he really think that a bouquet of flowers for me was going to make up for having an affair with another woman? Did he think that writing ' _I love you_ ' on a card was going to make me feel better? What did he want me to think?"

"Only you know the answer to that, Della. I would think that he was trying to begin to mend the trust he had broken with you. There could be several other reasons..."

"True… That's what's confusing to me, Connie. Anyway, I haven't really thought any more about it… I still need more time to think about whether or not I ever want to see him again anytime soon..."

"Does that mean that you're still looking into the legality of your marriage to him?"

"I haven't been looking for the paperwork anymore if that's what you're asking. I'm too busy at work to continue digging through files for that. I mean, if I find that I'm really not married to him, I have no obligations to him. That might make it easier to get him off of my mind and out of my life..."

"Do you really want to do that – get him out of your life?"

There was a long pause before Della quietly replied.

"No I don't want that..."

"Then stop looking for the paperwork about your marriage and let's talk about what you really want to do..."

Della slowly nodded in agreement with Doctor McRae's suggestion.

"What I really want to do right now is to figure out what the look in his eyes meant. I keep seeing his big, sad, blue eyes staring at me before I walked out on him… Over the years I've seen sorrow in his eyes – like when Paul Drake Senior died. I've seen anger in those eyes when he's had to confront a lying witness on the stand or even a client that isn't truthful with him… I've seen pity in those eyes for clients he'll defend even though the client knows that they couldn't afford such a successful defense attorney." Della looked up towards the ceiling. "I don't know what to think anymore. That's why I still need time – and a lot of advice from you!"

"What do you think he's feeling right now while you take the time to ponder your future with him?"

Della lightly rubbed her forehead and took a while before she replied.

"I guess I really haven't thought about what he's doing or feeling. I suppose he's not very happy with our situation..."

"When you call him to let him know about traveling to Dallas, will you take extra time during the call to ask him?"

"No… I don't want to start a conversation like that when I really need to concentrate on what's going on with my job. Perhaps when I get some time to myself in Dallas, I'll think about this some more..."

"You really enjoy staying busy at your job, Della. Were you always that way when you and Perry worked together? I know that I've asked you about that before..."

"Oh, I managed to stay busy when we worked together. But it seems like _he_ was even busier – he was the brains of the outfit, you know. Always thinking – always running off on some lead on the case with or without Paul. But we always managed to find time to relax when the case was concluded – to have a nice dinner or go out on the town – if we could find the energy. While we were still working murder cases – like just before Paul Drake died, we were slowing down a little bit. In other words, we didn't stay out as late as we used to," Della smirked.

To get Della thinking about her better days with Perry, Doctor McRae wanted to hear more stories of their romance again.

"That must have been very tiring going out after work… How late would you normally stay out after a hard days' work?"

"Oh my goodness..." Della was thinking back in time with a smile on her face. "There were a lot of nights we'd be out way past midnight! But I didn't feel tired – you might say we caught our second wind!"

She had Della on the right track now.

"So give me an example of a late night. What did you do, or where did you go? What's the latest that you stayed out that you can remember?"

Still looking upwards thinking about an example for Doctor McRae, an even bigger smile came to Della's face. She lightly chuckled and then looked right at Doctor McRae to answer.

"There was one occasion that we were supposed to show up at a client's home for a small house party one night… It was way back in the Spring of 1964 I think. Anyway, Perry stopped outside of the house on the sidewalk and we watched everyone mingling inside for a moment. After a few moments standing out there in the chilly night air, I finally asked him, 'Are we or are we not going into that party?'. Then he asked, 'Della, when was the last time that you went to a nightclub, drank champagne, and danced until dawn?'. I said, 'That, dear boss, is a memory so far back in time, I can't even drag it back to look at and enjoy in retrospect'. So he suggested that we skip the party and go and create some new memories… Right away, I told him, 'You're the boss' and we walked back to the car."

"Well, _did_ you – uh – create some new memories?"

"We _did_ create a new memory!"

"Please go on... Tell me more about that memory…"

 **Hollywood, CA PJ's Nightclub 11pm Friday, 1 May 1964**

The newly opened dance floor at PJ's nightclub on Santa Monica Boulevard was dimly lit and crowded – the perfect setting for dancing the night away for the famous attorney and his beautiful secretary. Known as the place to be for Hollywood celebrities after hours, it offered intimate seating arrangements and live bands for "dancing until dawn" as Perry had stated. Chances were very slim that anyone would recognize the well-dressed couple as they danced and drank champagne that night.

Swaying and whirling all over the the dance floor to their favorite tunes, they were locked in each others arms – Perry magnificently leading her around, and quietly singing the words to most of the songs in her ear.

By two-thirty in the morning, the champagne and long day had taken their toll on Perry and Della so they opted to head to Perry's apartment for the rest of the night. Upon entering the apartment, Perry removed Della's fur shoulder wrap and hung it up in the coat closet.

"How about a quick nightcap before we call it a night, Della?"

"I think a small one will be nice. Shall I pour?"

"Sure… You pour and I'll put on a record for our last dance, too..."

"Sounds marvelous! But for this last dance, I'm taking off my high-heeled shoes!"

After sipping a little cognac and slow dancing to an old jazz album, Perry held her tighter and began lightly kissing Della's bare shoulders. It wasn't much longer before his kisses moved up her neck to just below her ear. She moaned softly as he gently lifted her off of the floor and cradled her in his arms to carry her into his bedroom.

They slowly, but passionately made love for over an hour. While enjoying the afterglow of their romantic adventure, Della laid on her side, snuggled into Perry, as he gently caressed her soft, bare back with his hand.

Reflecting on their night of dancing and romance, Perry's quiet and gentle voice summed up their ambition for the night.

"Well? We didn't exactly make it _dancing until dawn_..."

Della slightly lifted her head off of Perry's shoulder.

"Oh? I don't know about that… What time is it?"

Perry turned and glanced at the clock on his nightstand.

"It looks like it's after four-thirty..."

Della rested her head back on Perry's shoulder.

"And approximately what time does the sun rise this morning?"

"I suppose the sun comes up around five-thirty or six… I'm not really sure..."

In her sexiest voice, Della began hinting at a proposal for making it until dawn.

"Well, Counselor… The definition of _dancing_ includes music, two people holding each other very close, and moving together in rhythm. Am I correct on that?"

Perry grinned.

"As always, you _are_ correct. I really like that definition, Miss Street…" He rose up, leaned on his elbow, and gently rolled her over onto her back before continuing. "We might just make it until dawn after all… May I have this dance?"

Della's giggle was the only answer he needed.

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4:55pm Friday, 21 October 1983**

Della was all smiles as she finished telling Doctor McRae of that romantic night with Perry back in 1964.

"The next day we lingered in bed until the middle of the afternoon. I got the most wonderful foot massage from him – after all, I was on my feet in high heels most of the day and all night on the dance floor. Eventually Perry made a quick trip to the market for a few groceries and we stayed in his apartment all weekend."

Della continued to stare at the ceiling – still grinning at the memory of that weekend before she continued.

"I really enjoyed spending that weekend with him that way. I saw true love in his big blue eyes that night… I also saw caring, kindness, and tenderness..." She sighed.

"Surely you've seen those positive images in him since then, haven't you?"

"I suppose. I probably just don't remember them as well… I'm still baffled about what I was seeing in his eyes when I last saw him. I only know that I was so embarrassed and humiliated by his confession concerning his affair with that woman, that I don't think I can face him again any time soon. I tried to hang in there, but I just had to get away from him..."

"Let me give you some advice on how to cope with the pain and humiliation that you are feeling. Have you ever heard of mindful meditation?"

"I think so. Isn't that just sitting around with your eyes closed breathing in and out?"

"There's more to it than that, Della. First you need to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed by phone calls or conversation – even a lot of noise. Then you sit comfortably and settle your mind by not thinking of your job or any other distractions. Think only about relaxing and your breathing. Focus on the sensations that you are feeling. If you can even find five or ten minutes to do this every day, you'll feel better."

"I think I can do that – especially while I'm away in Dallas."

"Just know that you're not alone when you're feeling hurt or embarrassed. You should also try some relaxation techniques..."

"Aren't relaxation techniques the same as mindful meditation?"

"Not exactly. For relaxation techniques, you'll need to tense up your muscles for a few moments, then relax. You start with your toes and move all the way up to your forehead. While you're doing that, you concentrate on your favorite place to be or your favorite thing to do..."

Della began thinking of what she would use as her favorite place. It used to be Carmel, but now she'd have to change that – probably to the beaches of Waikiki.

"I think I can do that. I can think about flowers in my garden or the beaches of Waikiki!"

Della quickly glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Oh my goodness! It's after five o'clock already! I should get out of here so you can start your weekend!"

"I have plenty of time to get on with my weekend, so I'm in no rush here. But while you're away, Della, just try those techniques that we've discussed. And if you need to talk at all while you're away, please call me. I really don't mind at all!"

After setting up another appointment with Doctor McRae, Della left the building and headed for home thinking about Doctor McRae's advice for coping.

" _You can do this, Della_ ," she told herself over and over on her drive home.

Feeling more self-assured after her session with Doctor McRae, Della was daring enough to call Perry. She began thinking to herself of her plan.

" _If he answers, I'll calmly tell him that I'll be in Dallas starting Sunday afternoon. If he wants to talk anymore, I'll have enough courage to politely decline any further conversation_."

Arriving at his apartment door in Portland, Perry could hear his phone ringing inside as he fumbled to put a key in the door lock. He dropped the bag of groceries he was carrying as he got the door open and ran for the phone as he heard Della's voice leaving a message on the answering machine.

"I just want to let you know that I'll be in Dallas most of next week beginning Sunday afternoon. Goodbye."

Perry scrambled to pick up the phone as she was saying "Goodbye".

"Della? I'm here! Hello? Are you there?"

All that he heard after trying to speak with her was a dial tone on the phone. He sighed as he put the phone down.

After disconnecting the call at the end of her message, Della frowned momentarily. Almost wishing that he was there to take her call in person, she shrugged it off and went into her kitchen to prepare her dinner.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Dallas, TX Fairmont Hotel 7:30am Monday, 24 October 1983**

Archbishop Stefan Corro stood at the door to his hotel room and looked at his pocket watch noting the time. Since arriving in Dallas the evening before and getting checked in to the hotel, he had been planning to somehow cross paths with Della in the hotel lobby. During his Sunday evening prayers, he asked the Heavenly Father above for guidance to make that meeting with Della happen. As he gathered his belongings in his hotel room, he silently made his request to the Lord above again.

" _For the charade that I will be initiating with our beloved Della Street, please forgive me if my innocent deception offends Thee dear Lord… Amen_!"

He made the sign of the cross and exited his room to go down to the hotel lobby and watch for Della Street to leave the hotel.

Stefan Corro found a comfortable spot in the corner of the hotel lobby where he could keep an eye on the elevator doors and the lobby exit doors. He watched as people rushed in and out of the hotel – most people were commenting on the weather. The forecast called for morning rain and thunderstorms and most people were prepared to venture outside carrying umbrellas and wearing raincoats.

Concealing his face behind the morning edition of the Dallas newspaper, he would lower the paper to look towards the elevator every time he heard the elevator bell ring as it arrived on the ground floor. It was only fifteen minutes before he spotted Della walking off of the elevator towards the hotel exit doors. She was dressed in a very stylish gray skirt and matching short jacket over a maroon blouse. Della toted a leather briefcase in her one hand and an umbrella in her other hand. Stefan immediately got on his feet and made his way into her direct path to the exit.

"Good heavens," he greeted Della before she made it to the doors. "Is it really you, Della?"

The startled look on Della's face immediately turned to a softer smile as she recognized Archbishop Stefan Corro standing before her with outstretched arms.

"Oh my goodness! Stefan Corro! How are you?"

After their brief embrace, Stefan replied.

"I'm well, Della! The question _is_ , how are _you_? And what brings you to Dallas?"

"One question at a time! I'm doing fine and I'm here for work. And forgive my bad manners – how nice it is to see you, _Your Excellency_! I hope that's the proper way to address an Archbishop!"

Stefan guided Della away from the main walkway of the busy lobby. After another quick glance towards the Heaven above, Stefan planted his first sign of deception speaking to Della as the sound of thunder rumbled outside of the hotel.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Della – you can still call me, Padre! So you're in Dallas for work… Did you happen to bring Perry along or is he still listening to Courtroom Appeals back in San Francisco?"

Even with the mention of Perry's name, Della maintained her composure and set the record straight with Stefan.

"Actually, no – Perry is _not_ with me. And he's temporarily been assigned to the Appeals Court in Portland, Oregon right now." She wanted to change the subject right away.

"The question that I have for you is, what in the world are _you_ doing here in Dallas, _Padre_?"

Noticing that Della was avoiding any conversation about Perry, he went along with Della's frame of mind and pointed to the sign in the lobby announcing the various activities occurring in the hotel.

"I'm here for work also – the three-day Global Christian Leadership Summit. Speaking of which, it's beginning with a continental breakfast in the Royal Room in a few minutes. How long will you be here in Dallas, Della?"

"I'll be here all week!"

"Well I'd love to meet you for dinner if you have any free time away from your job..."

"As a matter of fact, I'll be free every night this week! Why don't we meet for dinner – say tonight? And it's my treat! My boss has given me a very generous per diem allowance and I'd love to pick up the tab for a nice dinner with you!"

"Bless your heart, Della. I'm registered here at the hotel – room 610. Give me a call when you want to meet tonight!"

"I will do that, Padre! Enjoy your Christian Leadership Summit!"

They parted ways in the hotel lobby. Stefan Corro thought to himself that he did a fairly decent job "accidentally" crossing paths with Della without being too deceitful with his plan. He was certain that the sound of thunder outside was God's way of warning him to be careful with his plans for Della.

Meanwhile, Della walked away thinking to herself how nice it was seeing a friend from the past so far away from home. By the time she got into her rental car to make it to the new Dallas offices of Arthur Gordon Industries, a thought crossed her mind.

" _Could Perry have had something to do with my unexpected meeting with Stefan Corro_?"

As the thunder and lightning outside turned into a heavy downpour of rain, she dismissed that thought right away thinking that there was no way Perry had anything to do with that! She only told Perry that she was going to Dallas, and nothing about where she was staying. She smiled looking forward to dining with Stefan later that evening.

 **Dallas, TX Fairmont Hotel's Pyramid Restaurant 6:30pm Monday, 24 October 1983**

Stefan Corro was standing near the maitre'd's podium at the entrance to the restaurant as Della entered. The maitre'd noted her arrival and holding two dinner menus, he escorted them to their table. He held Della's chair for her and when she got seated, he placed the menus on the table in front of them.

"Tonight's special is our Gulf Shrimp Risotto and our soup of the day is French Onion… Your server will be with you soon. Enjoy!"

It was only a moment before their server arrived and took their drink orders. Della chose the house Merlot wine and Stefan opted for a brandy Manhattan. After the server left their table, Stefan reached across the table to take a hold of Della's hands.

"It's so nice to see you, Della! It's been way too long!"

Della gently squeezed Stefan's hands as she replied.

"How long has it been – four years?"

"I think you're right! We all had dinner in San Francisco!" Stefan glanced around the restaurant. "And as always, whether it's your choice or Perry's choice for dining out, you certainly have good taste!"

"Well I thought that for my first night here, I didn't want to venture out too far away from the hotel. And when I caught a glimpse of the menu for this place on an advertisement up in my suite, I thought it would be just fine to meet here – and we won't have to deal with the weather! That was some thunderstorm this morning!"

Stefan nervously cleared his throat.

"Uh, yes it was! I hope you made it to your job okay..."

"I didn't have very far to go so it was fine..."

The server arrived with their drinks and they politely asked for more time to look at the menu before ordering.

They lifted their glasses and lightly tipped them together in a toast recited by Stefan.

"To seeing a good friend – uh – unexpectedly!"

Eventually they got around to ordering their dinner – Della chose the tenderloin steak and Stefan chose the Gulf Shrimp Risotto special. While waiting for the side salads that came with their entrees, Stefan closely watched Della's mannerisms. He thought that by starting a conversation about what she was doing in Dallas, he might eventually get her to talk about her situation with Perry.

"All I know about your trip to Dallas so far is that you're here to supervise the opening of a new office for your job with Arthur Gordon. Did you volunteer for this, or did you just get stuck with such a large undertaking?"

After taking a small sip of her wine, Della smiled and replied.

"I was asked to do this by Mister Gordon himself. I've been his Executive Assistant for several years now. I took on this task willingly. Mister Gordon seems to have confidence in me to get this done right."

"Of course he does. It appears that he knows a dedicated employee when he sees one." Stefan wanted to bring up Perry's name to study her reaction. "He probably sees your value just as Perry did for all those years that you worked with him..."

At the mention of Perry's name, Della went from smiling and lightly touching the stem of her wine glass to placing her hands on her lap. She took the cloth napkin off of her lap and began fidgeting with it in her hands.

"I think so..." Della then changed the subject right away.

"So enough about me and my job… How is your job going – especially as the leader of a large archdiocese?"

He saw her facial expression change to being very interested in hearing about his work.

"Oh it has its moments. There's a lot of responsibility, but I have a first-rate staff helping me out. I'm getting to know a lot about the religious needs of the Denver area, so sometimes there are challenges."

Their salads arrived and while eating them, they continued making small talk about the weather in Denver and Los Angeles. Stefan tried to get Della to talk about her personal life, but she would only talk about her job and the gardening that she does in her spare time.

When their entrees arrived, Stefan tried again to bring Perry's name into the conversation.

"Your steak looks delicious, Della. Aside from this place, I don't think there's anyone that can make a fine meal like Perry can. He's come up with some pretty divine spreads over the years."

Della's reply was brief as she sliced another bite of her steak.

"Yes, he sure has..."

Stefan tried another angle hoping to get Della to open up about her separation from Perry.

"How is Paul Junior doing these days? I haven't seen him for a few years. He was so close to Perry growing up – I thought he'd be interested in law school if Perry would have encouraged that..."

"Paul is doing fine. I don't think he ever considered law school. He took some criminology courses in college because he really wanted to be a private detective like his father. He's staying busy enough to pay the bills. And in his spare time, he plays the saxophone in a band occasionally."

"Good for him! You and Perry really raised him well. Is he serious with any girlfriends right now? His father sure was a ladies' man..."

"He goes out with different girls all the time – but there's nobody that he's serious with right now. And you're right – he's just like his father – a real ladies' man!"

By the time they finished their dinners and sipped on their after dinner drinks, it was apparent to Stefan that Della was avoiding any conversation about Perry right now. Her answers to his questions were short and never made any reference to Perry at all. Overnight he was going to think of some way to get her to open up, but it would have to be another time. He proposed meeting for dinner the next night.

"I've really enjoyed dining with you tonight, Della. It wasn't my intention to have you pay for this delicious meal, so how would you like to have dinner again tomorrow night? This time it will be my treat. I also have a daily meal allowance from the archdiocese. I hope you'll be free to join me..."

"I'd like that very much, Padre. Perhaps you can choose the place for tomorrow night. I should be free around six o'clock..."

"Great! I'll ask around and find another nearby exceptional dining establishment."

 **Dallas, TX The French Room Restaurant 6pm Tuesday, 25 October 1983**

Stefan Corro thought that he had found the perfect place to dine with Della and get her to talk about her strained relationship with Perry. Knowing that they were married in France back in 1960, finding a place that would remind her of her wedding might just get her talking about Perry. After another silent prayer hoping that this ploy would work, he met Della in the lobby of their hotel.

He and Della shared a taxi for the short ride to the restaurant that Stefan made reservations for. Wanting to surprise her with his choice of restaurants, he didn't tell her the name of the place. The taxi dropped them off at the entrance to the Adolphus Hotel and Stefan escorted Della inside to the restaurant. He watched Della's reaction as she saw the name of the restaurant.

" _The French Room_? What an interesting choice, Padre! I thought for sure you'd find a barbecue restaurant for some authentic Texas cuisine." She was all smiles as they entered so Stefan was thinking that he made the right choice.

"One can always find good Texas cuisine in Dallas, but finding something out of the ordinary sounded better. I hope you'll like it..."

After glancing at the menu and seeing the entree prices, Della reached across the table and placed her hand over Stefan's menu.

"Why don't you let me put this meal on my expense account, Stefan? I can't see your archdiocese authorizing such an extravagant expense for just one meal..."

"Nonsense, Della. The archdiocese won't see this expense because I intend to pay for this on my own. It's not every day that I dine out like this and being with an old friend like you is worth every cent. Now stop looking at the prices on the menu and think about what you'd like to order."

Della's reply was not quite what Stefan expected.

"You sound just like Perry – telling me to stop looking at the prices on the menu!"

Stefan looked up towards Heaven above and silently praised the Lord while surreptitiously making a sign of the cross across his chest.

" _Thank you, dear Lord. Let this divine intervention_ _finally_ _begin_!"

They chose the three course prix fixe meal starting with celery root soup in the first course. Stefan was very pleased with their conversation because Della talked a lot about her visits to France over the years. They spoke about art, various museums in Paris, and of course, the cuisine.

They shared the second course and chose the stuffed saddle of lamb for two. Della mentioned Perry's cooking skills a lot during the second course and Stefan just smiled and nodded in agreement with her. His ruse was finally working.

It was during the third course over coffee and dessert when Della finally began talking about her separation from Perry. While slowly stirring a bit of cream in her coffee, she came right out and revealed the status of her relationship with Perry to Stefan.

"I'm not sure if you know this or not, Stefan, but Perry and I are separated."

"Good heavens, no!" Stefan reached across the table for Della's hands. "I thought something was troubling you – up until tonight, you've changed the subject every time I've mentioned something about Perry. I'm so sorry, Della."

The look on Della's face was apologetic.

"Don't be sorry, Stefan. Perry and I have been dealing with this situation since May. It was my choice to leave him, but we're still somewhat on speaking terms about this. I just can't face him right now after what he's done..."

"I'll be glad to listen if you want to talk about this..."

Della chuckled.

"When I ran into you yesterday morning, my first thought about seeing you so unexpectedly was that Perry had set up our meeting somehow. Then right away I realized that there's no way that he could have done that because I only told him that I would be in Dallas this week and made no mention of where I was staying. I've been getting very suspicious of things that have happened that are out of the ordinary lately..."

"Well I can assure you that Perry had nothing to do with my seeing you here in Dallas, Della. But maybe the good man upstairs had something to do with our meeting."

"Ha! I could sure use some guidance from above on this!"

"If you trust someone lower-ranking that the good man up above, I'll be glad to listen and give you some spiritual guidance..."

Without going into too much detail, Della told Stefan that Perry confessed to her that he had a brief affair with a woman in San Francisco. She concluded her story by telling Stefan about their meeting in Los Angeles two weeks before.

"I can't take sides on this, Della. I've known Perry for a long time and I have the highest admiration for you. I can only guess that he's just as troubled by this situation as you are. What I also know is that the first time that he ever mentioned anything about you to me was that he was very excited to say that he'd found the love of his life in you..."

"I've heard that before. If it's true, why did take up with another woman?"

"That's a question only he can answer, Della. I can offer you this to think about though – Perry was weak and gave into temptation. When someone reveals their egregious behavior to the one who was hurt, they're usually seeking forgiveness. It might take some time, but only a strong person can find it in their heart to forgive."

"That's sensible advice, Padre. But I'm just not strong enough to even think about forgiving him right now..."

Stefan reached for Della's hands again.

"I pray that someday you'll find the strength to forgive. But until then, if there's anything I can do, please let me know."

The next day Stefan Corro returned to Denver, still praying to God that Della would work something out with Perry. He gave it his best effort to get her thinking about forgiveness, but now it was all up to Della. He vowed that he would never let Perry know about his meeting with Della.

For the rest of the week in Dallas for Della, Stefan's words of advice kept going through her mind. " _Find the strength to forgive_..."

" _Easier said than done_ ," she further thought to herself. When she returned to Los Angeles at the end of that week, she began concentrating on her mindful meditation and relaxation techniques hoping those methods would make her strong.

 **TBC**

I really appreciate your comments and reviews. Thanks for reading. I just noticed the date for posting this chapter. Our beloved Barbara Hale would be 96 years old today! Happy Birthday, Della Street!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 5pm Thursday, 10 November 1983**

After a rather busy day at work, Della made it home earlier than usual. Her boss, Mister Gordon, had left on an overseas trip earlier in the day, so with her office duties finished for the day, she went home to relax. She put away a bag of groceries that she had picked up at the nearby market on her way home and walked into her living room.

After kicking off her high-heeled shoes, Della settled into her easy chair to begin her daily muscle relaxation routine. She barely got started flexing her feet when her phone next to her on the table rang.

"Hello, Della! It's Tom Smith calling from Brussels..."

After a quick glance at the clock on her wall, Della replied.

"Hi Tom! Oh my goodness! It's probably the middle of the night there in Brussels."

"It's just after two in the morning here. I thought about calling you in the office earlier, but as usual I was so busy on a project that I forgot until now!"

"You're working too hard, Tom."

"Not as hard as you, Della! Anyway, the reason I'm calling is to let you know that in case you haven't heard by now, I'm being transferred to Lucerne. That assignment might last until December of next year. It's another new project that the big boss requested."

"Aha! That's probably what Mister Gordon was going to tell me before he left for overseas again this afternoon. He was in such a hurry to catch his flight that he said he'd be talking to me later about another computer software idea he'd been thinking of. I'm glad that this new project doesn't involve me this time!"

"It shouldn't involve you in any way this time. I'm hearing that things are going well in Dallas with the new office..."

"Well, it's been very time-consuming – mostly because we're already jammed in with inadequate square footage for the building. When Mister Gordon heard about that, he was ready to get rid of Ben, the vice president that he put in charge of finding that building in Dallas."

"If anyone can fix all of those issues, it's _you_ , Della. Oh – I almost forgot the other reason that I'm calling. I'm wondering if you'd like to remain in my home there for another year or so. If you decide that you no longer need my place, I'll have to find another renter..."

"I'm happy to remain here if you won't be living here, Tom. When you need to move back here, I'll make other arrangements right away – although I might want to take the whole back yard with me if I do move!"

Tom laughed.

"It sounds like you've turned the back yard into a lovely garden space. You have a much better green thumb than I've ever had!"

"Oh, I don't know about that! I've been out of town so often lately that some of my plants have been neglected!"

"I highly doubt that, Della. Anyway, I should let you go. It's time for me to get some sleep. Thanks for taking care of the home that I haven't seen in nearly a year!"

"Not a problem! Get some rest, Tom. Thanks for the call!"

Della hung up the phone and then realized that she should have asked Tom if he wanted more rent money for his home. Before she could recline in her chair to try her muscle relaxation again, the phone rang again. She thought it was Tom calling back.

"Oh, Tom! I'm glad that you called back! I forgot to ask you about my rent!"

The man on the other end of the line was not Tom.

"This isn't Tom, Della. It's me, Perry..."

Della immediately sat up straight in the chair – her heart rate increasing with nervous tension.

"Oh! Perry! I thought it was Tom. I just got off the phone with him..."

"I can call back at another time if you want to call him back right now..."

"Uh – no… It's fine… I, uh, think I'll call him back at a more reasonable hour. It's early morning there in Brussels."

"Right..."

Della became more tense just hearing his voice.

"So, why are you calling, Perry?"

"I just wanted you to know that my assignment here in Portland will be finished by November twenty-third. After the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I'll be back in San Francisco..."

"Oh. That's good to know, thanks. And while I have you on the phone, I should let you know now that I'll be back in Dallas next Sunday until Wednesday evening..."

"Okay. Thanks for the update..." Perry wasn't expecting her to answer the phone, so he was delighted to actually be speaking to her. He changed the subject to keep her on the line.

"So how are things going for you in Dallas?"

"They're fine..." Della's heart was still racing and by taking his call so unexpectedly, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Perry paused for a moment hoping that she would be a little more detailed in her response.

"I'm glad it's going well… I really can't wait to get back to San Francisco. It's hard being away from home and a normal routine..."

"I suppose..."

"Well it sounds like I've caught you at a bad time. I just wanted to let you know what's going on with me..."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"No problem..." Perry didn't want to end the call, but he knew from her short answers, that she was either really nervous or just didn't want to talk with him. He decided to end the call.

"Well I'm glad that I got to actually speak to _you_ instead of your answering machine. Goodbye, Della... I love you..."

"Uh, yes… Goodbye, Perry."

Della hung up the phone and was instantly overcome with regret for ending the call that way. She lightly bit her lower lip and when she was able to regain her composure, she sat back in her chair.

" _I definitely need to talk about this with Connie tomorrow_ ," she said to herself.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 1pm Friday, 11 November 1983**

Della couldn't wait for her appointment with Doctor McRae to begin. Many of the government offices were closed for the Veterans Day holiday weekend, but not Doctor McRae's office. As Della was brought into the office, she unwrapped her cotton scarf from around her neck and took off her light overcoat. She was all bundled up for the cooler autumn weather.

As usual, Doctor McRae offered Della a beverage.

"Thanks, Connie. I'll have coffee if you still have some… I know you'll be closing up the office when we're through here today..."

"Actually I just made a fresh pot of coffee about an hour ago for lunch. It's been so chilly out lately, that I've been drinking way too much coffee all day. But I really enjoy it!"

After serving Della her cup of coffee and getting seated behind her desk, Doctor McRae started the therapy session.

"You seem just a little nervous today, Della..."

"Is it really that noticeable?"

"Oh, just a little. I usually study your mannerisms when you come in and to me, it just seemed like you're a little anxious today..."

"I _am_ anxious today, Connie… I didn't sleep very well last night..."

"I'm ready to listen when you're ready to talk..."

Della nervously cleared her throat.

"Perry called me on the phone at home yesterday evening. I don't know what was wrong with me. You see I had just gotten off the phone with Tom Smith – you know – the man whose home I'm living in while he's overseas. Right away the phone rang again and for some reason I thought it was Tom calling back. I started babbling about being glad that he was calling again because I forgot to ask him something… But it was actually _Perry_ calling! I got really nervous for some reason..."

"Well it wasn't a call that you were expecting, so maybe you were somewhat stressed when you found out that Perry was on the line."

"So why is that? Why do I get so worked up just hearing his voice?"

"I'm not sure yet. Tell me a little more about the call."

"He was calling to tell me that he would be moving back to San Francisco by Thanksgiving weekend. His assignment would be finished in Portland."

"That's understandable that he would call to tell you that. Go on..."

"Well anyway, I used the opportunity to let him know that I'll be back in Dallas again for a few days next week. He thanked me for that information and asked how I was doing with this Dallas project. I told him that it was okay. I didn't want to go into any details with him about the Dallas expansion. I think he sensed that I didn't want to add anything else, so he ended the call..."

"Okay… So were you upset that he ended the call so soon?"

"Uh, no… I was upset by the way that _I_ ended the call. When he was saying goodbye, he said ' _I love you_ '. I didn't know what to say in return so I just muttered something like 'okay goodbye'! Why did I do that when he just said that he loves me? Why can't I be civil to him and just say that I love him, too?"

Della leaned her head forward and rubbed her forehead waiting for Doctor McRae's answer.

"I can only guess that for some reason you're afraid to tell him how you feel."

"I just don't know why I get so worked up when I see him or talk to him. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to pop out of my chest!"

"Part of you is still angry with him for hurting you while the other part wants an explanation from him about why this all happened. When you're suddenly confronted with his presence or an unexpected phone call, you're not prepared for that to think clearly. At that point, many people experience a fight or flight mode in their mind. You're not a fighter, Della, so your mind says get out while you can..."

Della sat back in her chair and pondered Doctor McRae's assessment while staring at the ceiling.

"I think you're right, Connie. So how do I fix this?"

"Well, it depends on how _you_ want to talk to him. From what I know about you so far, you'll want to do this over the phone because it's an easier way out for you."

Della had a puzzled look on her face.

"How so?"

"Over the phone, if he reveals something that hurts you and you don't want to deal with it, you'll just hang up on him and fret about it. However, if you see him in person and want to tell him how you feel, there's no backing out. Do you think that you're ready for that?"

"No, not yet," Della quietly replied.

"Why not? The last time we spoke, it seemed like you were feeling more confident in yourself."

"Oh, I don't know… There's just so much going on with my job right now and I can't let my boss down with this important project. There are so many other people involved in this project that are relying on me to get the job done right." Della rubbed her forehead again.

"You'll have to decide what's more important then, Della. Your job or your marriage."

"I know that," Della softly replied. "But if I can just make it to the end of this year, I think that I'll be finished with the hardest part of my job. By then I'll have more time and enough courage to speak with him. There's so much that I want to say to him, but I just can't do that right now."

"It will all come together for you when you're ready to accept his explanation for having an affair with another woman. At that point you'll have to decide whether or not you can forgive him and move on..."

Doctor McRae's last sentence really caught Della's attention.

"I've been hearing a lot about forgiveness lately. You see, when I was in Dallas recently I ran into an old friend of ours – Stefan Corro. He was a priest when Perry introduced him to me many years ago and now he's an Archbishop of an Archdiocese in Denver. He happened to be staying at the same hotel that I was staying at for some sort of religious summit. Anyway, we had dinner two nights in a row. I was very reluctant to tell him that Perry and I were separated that first night because he just went on and on about Perry. Well, when we had dinner the next night, I finally told him that Perry and I were separated. He reacted very concerned by that news. We talked more about it and he was saddened that Perry was weak and gave into a temptation. Then he added that forgiving him for his affair would be something that I would need to do in order to stay in a productive relationship again with Perry..."

"What did you think of his advice?"

"He made a lot of sense."

"Of course he did. Members of the clergy counsel people all of the time and any advice that promotes forgiveness usually has a positive impact on someone's ability to achieve forgiveness."

"I see… But I just don't think that I know _how_ to forgive..."

"Sure you do, Della. You've probably forgiven many other people for things that have upset you over the years. Forgiveness is a very mindful decision to do away with feelings of anger or resentment that you have towards someone who has committed a wrong against you. At this point, to begin to forgive Perry, you'll need to confront him in person and find out his reasons for having an affair. It's already been too tough for you to handle his initial confession. You ran out on him before you could understand why he was unfaithful and ask him questions about it."

Della sipped her coffee and pondered Doctor McRae's theories of forgiveness.

"Since I left Stefan Corro, I've tried to think about his words of advice. What you're telling me now is some of the same things that I've been reflecting on. I've tried your meditation techniques, but I can't clear my mind enough to fully relax. On the other hand, I do enjoy the muscle relaxation techniques. Sometimes I do that while listening to my favorite music. I try to think of my favorite places, but they're all places that I've shared with Perry..."

"Do you feel any less anger towards Perry?"

"I think so… Especially after my conversations with Stefan Corro – and you of course."

"Do you think you're capable of forgiveness?"

There was a long pause as Della stared straight ahead at the wall behind Doctor McRae.

"Maybe... I still love him, Connie. But before I can even _think_ about forgiving him, I want to sit down and talk with him some more. I'm just not sure that I have the strength to get through something like that right now..."

"You _will_ find the strength, Della. It's obvious that you have a support system in place with help and advice from your friends. You're thinking about that advice and acting on it. I can see that you're getting stronger with every session we have. You'll know when the time is right."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Office of Doctor John Wilburn 1:** **30** **pm Friday, 16 December 1983**

When he was informed by his receptionist that he had an important caller from Denver waiting on the phone, John Wilburn took the call right away. It was Stefan Corro.

"How are you Stefan? I haven't heard from _you_ in a while..."

"My apologies, John. I was hoping that I would be hearing from _you_ on the reconciliation of our favorite troubled couple by now. Is there anything new that you can tell me?"

"Not at all on this end. Did you ever get a chance to speak with Della?"

"By the grace of God, I sure did. I thought that our meeting went very well. But that was over a month ago. And there's been no sign of them getting back together yet?"

"No. But Perry _has_ returned to San Francisco. He was back here around Thanksgiving. I haven't had much of an opportunity to speak with him privately, but I should see him tonight. We're having our annual Christmas holiday dinner and dance at the Bohemian Club tonight. I know for sure that he'll be there."

"Oh my… I thought for sure that Della would reach out to him by now and they would be back together. We're so close to the holidays."

"I don't think that's happened. He's been pretty quiet when I've been with him at the Club. How was Della going to reach out to him, if I may ask?"

"I can't go into any details about what we talked about, but I thought that I had planted the seeds of forgiveness. If my ruse had actually worked, they should have at least met in person by now..."

"Perry has not mentioned anything about seeing her. He only mentioned that he spoke on the phone with her about his return to San Francisco. He didn't share any details of the call and I didn't press him for more. I always let him initiate the conversations about his troubles with Della."

"Perhaps my plan with Della did not work out like I intended. I don't know what else I can do for them."

"Maybe I can give it a try, Stefan. Like I said, I'll see him at the Club tonight."

"Great! Please let me know the latest when you can..."

During the cocktail hour prior to the festivities at the Club that night, John was watching for Perry to show up. He'd even gone as far as saving a seat for him at their dinner table, but Perry was a no show. Before the dance was going to begin, John went to use a telephone to call Perry. When the phone rang six times and then the answering machine came on, John just hung up without leaving a message. He was concerned about Perry's absence at the Club, but would have to try and call him later on the weekend to hear Perry's explanation for not showing up.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA** **Perry's Apartment 6pm Monday, 19 December 1983**

The telephone at John Wilburn's residence only rang twice before Perry's call there was answered by John.

"Hi John. I got your messages on my answering machine that you left over the weekend. When you left four messages, I thought I'd better call you right away, but I got in really late last night so I thought I'd wait to call you at a more reasonable hour."

"I left a fifth message at your office today too, Perry. That's how I found out that your court offices are closed for the holidays. Where in the heck were you on Friday night? I thought you'd be at the Club for the Christmas dinner and dance..."

"Nah, I changed my mind," Perry sighed. "Since Della wasn't going to be with me this year, I just thought that I'd skip it. I didn't want to feel like the odd man out all night..."

John slowly shook his head.

"You know as well as I do that there are always other men there without dates or wives. Does that mean that you won't be coming to the New Year's Eve dance, either?"

"Probably not, John. I don't want to feel out of place going solo. Besides, what do I have to celebrate for the end of this year's misery, and the beginning of a new year with more suffering?"

"I see your point, Perry. But you can't quit socializing altogether… So where were you last weekend?"

"Oh – I flew to LA to do some Christmas shopping. I just checked into a hotel and went about my errands on my own. I suppose I should have let you know that I wasn't going to go to the Club. Sorry about that. I was only thinking of what I could get for Della for Christmas."

"And how did that go?"

"Okay, I guess. I went to a jewelry store but couldn't find anything appropriate there. I thought about the usual gift of perfume and nixed that idea, too. Then I ended up at a florist shop. I ordered a big bouquet of Christmas flowers for her and a nice plant. She can keep that indoors until planting season. I put a hand-written note with it all and it will be delivered on the morning of Christmas Eve..."

"Well I hope it breaks the ice with you two, so to speak. And speaking of Christmas, what are your plans for Christmas Day? We'd love to have you over for Christmas dinner… I'd ask you along for a Christmas Eve event, but we're going to Betty's cousins' place. They don't drink..."

Perry chuckled knowing how much John liked to imbibe with holiday cheer.

"I'm sure you'll survive one evening without bourbon. Anyway, thanks for the offer, but I think that I'll just hang out here at home next weekend."

"Nonsense, Perry. Betty makes the best prime rib dinner every Christmas Day. She wants you there and so do I."

"Really, John, thanks but..."

John cut Perry off.

"We'll expect you at two o'clock on Christmas Day, Perry. Or else!"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 2pm Saturday, 24 December 1983**

Ever since Della received the Christmas bouquet and plant at her home that morning, she tried to busy herself all day while thinking of calling Perry. The hand-written note with the gift kept running through her mind.

" _I'm thinking of you for the holidays and always. Merry Christmas, Della. Love, Perry_."

Feeling a little odd because she didn't send him a gift or anything else, she finally worked up the courage to call him around two o'clock. She at least owed him a call to acknowledge receiving the flowers and plant.

Perry answered his phone after three rings.

"Hello?"

Just hearing his voice, Della felt her heart begin to race. She settled down right away to speak to him.

"Hello, Perry. Merry Christmas."

Perry was thrilled to hear her voice.

"Hello, Della. Merry Christmas to you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for the flowers and the plant. They're marvelous."

"I'm glad that you like them. I couldn't think of anything else that you might like – uh – considering our – uh – situation..."

"I'm sorry that I didn't get you anything. I've been so busy going back and forth to Dallas lately..."

"That's okay. I really wasn't expecting anything anyway..." He wanted to get off the subject of gifts. "So what are your plans for the weekend?"

Feeling a little relieved that he didn't dwell on her lack of etiquette for not even thinking of sending him a gift or even a card, she told him of her plans.

"I'm going over to Jeanne's tonight. We're expecting to just have a few appetizers and catch up. I haven't seen her in a while."

"Be sure to tell Jeanne Merry Christmas for me."

"I will..."

"Do you have plans for Christmas Day?"

"Oh, yes. I told Paul that I'd meet him for brunch."

"That's nice. I sent Paul a card with cash. I was sure that he could always use that."

"I think he'll appreciate that… What about you, Perry? Any plans?"

"I've been invited over to John and Betty's for dinner tomorrow."

"That's nice. Say Merry Christmas to them for me..."

"I sure will."

After a long period of awkward silence, Perry decided to end the call.

"Well, thanks for calling, Della. Merry Christmas. I love you..."

Hearing that from Perry, Della got a lump in her throat.

"Uh – you, too," she lamely replied and hung up the phone.

On the table next to her chair, Della picked up the hand-written note from Perry and read it again as her eyes filled with tears. She wiped away the tears with a tissue and sighed.

" _That was a foolish reply, Della_ ," she thought to herself. " _You're not as strong as you thought you'd be_!" She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes hoping to think of what she could do better the next time she speaks with him.

Perry gently placed his phone down on the table next to his chair and with a somber look on his face, he stared straight ahead at his fireplace. After a moment, he walked over to the fireplace and took down the decorative Christmas stockings he had hung there earlier in the day. He tossed aside the stocking with his name on it, and ran his fingers across the stitching of Della's name on the other one.

He repeated the end of their conversation out loud to himself.

"Merry Christmas, Della. I love you… Uh – you too..."

He tossed Della's Christmas stocking aside, too.

 **DSOXPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Home of John & Betty Wilburn 2pm Sunday, 25 December 1983**

Wearing a festive, emerald green dress with a wreath-shaped brooch fastened to the upper left side of her dress, Betty Wilburn met Perry at the front door of her home with open arms for a hug. Perry smiled and gave her a firm embrace, then immediately presented her with a gift of champagne.

"Merry Christmas, Betty!" He began to walk further into the home.

When Betty accepted the gift, she immediately put it aside on a table near the door and stopped him from walking away.

"Not so fast, Perry!" She pointed to the top of the door.

Perry looked up and saw the mistletoe. He leaned down and lightly gave her a kiss on her cheek.

Betty wasn't going to let him get away with just a kiss on her cheek and she pulled his head down to return his kiss on his lips this time.

"Wow! You better be careful, Mrs. Wilburn. Your husband might find your lipstick on my lips and I'll really be in trouble!"

A smiling John Wilburn was standing off to the side and witnessed the whole greeting between his wife and Perry.

"Don't worry about it, Perry. She's been trying to lure me over to that mistletoe all week!" He walked over to Perry to greet him.

Perry reached out to shake John's hand. John grabbed his hand and put his other hand on Perry's shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Perry. I'm glad that you're here!"

After tying a holiday-fashioned apron around her waist, Betty picked up the bottle of champagne and handed it to John.

"Here. Perry came bearing a gift. Why don't you two men head for the bar while I head back to the kitchen?"

John accepted the champagne and patted Perry on the back while guiding him towards his bar.

"You heard her, Perry! Come along with me! I've been waiting all day to have a good, stiff, holiday beverage!"

Perry admired the Christmas decorations all over the house as they made their way over to the bar area. There was Christmas music softly playing on their stereo.

"Your place looks nice, John. Do I need to be aware of any more hidden mistletoe?"

John chuckled.

"No, you saw the only mistletoe at the door. Just be careful when you leave!" He put two lowball glasses on the bar in front of them and added ice. "Name your poison, Perry."

"I'll have whatever you're having..."

"Fine – bourbon all around!"

They took their drinks over to the living room area and settled into easy chairs. John packed tobacco into his pipe and asked Perry how his Christmas Eve was.

Perry sipped his drink before replying.

"Della called me yesterday to thank me for the flowers and plant..."

John was lighting the tobacco in his pipe.

"And how did that call go?"

Perry sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

"I tried to get her to talk, but she was really cold – you know – very unemotional. She's obviously still mad at me… But she tried to be polite. Oh, and she said to wish you and Betty a Merry Christmas also."

John exhaled the pipe smoke.

"That was nice of her. What plans did she have for the weekend?"

"She was going over to Jeanne Cooper's last night and was going out with Paul for brunch today."

"Well at least you got that much information out of her."

Betty came into the living room with a tray of appetizers in one hand and small plates with napkins in the other.

"Please help yourself to these appetizers. We still have about an hour until dinner..."

John looked over the snacks that she laid out before them on the table.

"Thank you, dear. What is this delicious-looking bite?" He had chosen a small, warm, doughy-baked morsel.

"Those are crab cake bites. They go very well with the lemon-garlic sauce. And of course I've made your favorite – deviled eggs..."

Both men filled their small plates as Betty returned to her kitchen duties. The men ate, drank, and continued their conversation. John was still interested in Perry's status with Della.

"You haven't said much about her since I was with you for the fishing trip in October. Do you still think she's pondering a divorce?"

"I really don't know what to think. She seems so distant when we've talked. I just keep seeing the ire in her eyes the day that she walked out on me."

"Any change in the tone of her voice when you talk with her?"

"She's polite – but her answers are short." Perry sighed. "You know John? Over the years I've seen tears of sadness in her eyes – like when Paul Drake died. I've seen tears of joy in her eyes when she finally accepted my marriage proposal in Paris. But now I've seen anger and hurt in her eyes because of my inexcusable conduct with another woman. I've asked you this before, John. What can I do now? I'll do anything to win her back..."

"I still have the same advice that I gave you back in October – keep up your continued kindness towards her. You still need to understand that it will take time for her hurt to go away. Give her the time and space to cope with this situation. When she's ready to resolve this, she'll come around."

When Betty came back into the living room, the conversation about Della was over. After putting a few crab cakes and a deviled egg on her plate, she got seated on the couch before saying anything.

"How are the hors d'oeuvres, gentlemen?"

While Perry answered her question, John got up to fix her a drink.

"Everything is fantastic, Betty. I'm glad that you can finally join us. As I mentioned to John earlier, Della sends her best wishes for the holidays to you both."

John brought Betty a brandy and water on the rocks. She took a small sip before speaking.

"Thank you, dear." She turned to Perry. "Well that very sweet of Della, Perry. I wish she was here with us today."

Perry politely nodded to her but before Betty could say anything more, John proposed a holiday toast to change the subject.

"Here's to good friends and Betty's scrumptious prime rib! Merry Christmas!"

They all raised their glasses for the toast and took a sip of their drinks.

Perry's facial expression showed glee for the toast, but inside he glumly thought to himself, " _Yes, it's Christmas, but I can't find anything merry about it – this year_."

 **TBC**

Thank you for your comments and reviews. Thanks for reading.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 5pm Monday, 23 January 1984**

His telephone began ringing as Perry walked into his apartment. He finished taking off his overcoat before answering the phone. He was always hoping that it would be Della calling because he had not spoken with her since Christmas Eve. Once again he was disappointed that it wasn't her on the line.

"Hi Perry! It's Herman Lowry calling. I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time..."

"I'll let you know in a minute, Herman. When a tax accountant is calling his client it could either be good news or bad news. Which is it?"

"Neither. As usual, I'm just thinking about the tax season this time of year. I'd like to get your appointment set up soon because I didn't see you or Della on my schedule yet."

Perry let out a heavy sigh before replying. He hadn't even thought about doing taxes with Della as they usually did every year.

"Hmmm. Do you have a date in mind, Herman? I'll have to speak with Della about this before we set a date."

"I have several openings in March and April. I'm pretty flexible right now – especially with you and Della since I know that you two live so far apart right now..."

" _It's even further apart than you can imagine_ ," Perry said to himself before he responded to Herman. He dug out his phone number book from his coat pocket to verify Herman's information.

"How about if I give Della a call to check on her availability? Are you still on Wilshire Boulevard in LA, Herman?"

"Yes. Same building. Same office. Same phone number. Nothing ever changes around here except the tax laws."

Perry grinned at Herman's subtle humor.

"Let me talk about this with Della and call you back by the end of the week."

"Sounds good, Perry. And when you call back, be sure to keep a record of your long-distance call to me – it's tax deductible, you know!"

Perry chuckled.

"Will do, Herman. Thanks for the call!"

After hanging up the phone, Perry glanced at the clock on the wall. He contemplated making a phone call to Della right away, but decided against it at that moment after thinking to himself about her whereabouts at that hour.

" _She's probably still at work right now. If she's not at work, she might be on her way home. I better wait until around seven or eight o'clock. Maybe she won't even be home by then – like if she goes out for dinner or something. But I don't want to wait too late_." He frowned and rubbed his forehead before thinking some more.

" _Why do I get so worked up about making a simple_ _phone_ _call to her_?"

He walked over to his liquor cabinet and brought a bottle of bourbon with him into the kitchen. He filled a lowball glass with ice from the freezer and poured the bourbon over the ice.

" _A little glass of liquid courage will calm me down to make the call_ ," he thought to himself.

By seven forty-five that night, he was brave enough to make the call to her and punched in her home phone number on his phone. He was surprised when she answered after it rang twice. She sounded a little tired when she answered.

"Hello, Della. It's me, Perry."

"Hello, Perry..."

"You sound a little tired. I hope that I didn't wake you..."

Della perked up to reply.

"No, you didn't wake me. I was just reading some notes from work."

Perry continued to sound apologetic for the intrusion.

"Well if I've called at a bad time, you can call me back tomorrow..."

"No, it's okay. What do you need?"

" _I need you_ ," is what Perry wanted to say, but instead he laid out the reason for his call.

"I got a call from Herman Lowry today. He wants to set up an appointment for us for doing our taxes. He wants to know our availability. I told him that I'd have to check with you..."

"Oh… I hadn't even thought about taxes!" Della paused momentarily before continuing.

"Hold on a minute. I need to get my calendar book out of my purse..."

Perry was encouraged by her willingness to look at her schedule. That could only mean that she was at least amenable to sitting with him to get their taxes done.

"Hmmm. Looking over my schedule, I don't have a lot of free time available. April will not be an option at all because I'll be busy with the opening of another office in Chicago..."

"Well I suppose we'll have to make it sometime in March then. February is not a good month for me at all..."

"March will be fine. Let me give you a few dates that I might have some free time in the morning."

"Okay. What are they?"

"Right now it looks like the sixth or the seventh for a morning appointment. The twelfth or thirteenth will have to be in the afternoon."

"Great. I'll call Herman in the morning and let you know what he has available on those dates."

"Fine. Thank you."

Perry wanted to see if he could keep her on the line so instead of ending the call, he tried to continue their conversation.

"How have you been otherwise, Della?"

Her answer was short.

"I'm fine, thanks."

He wasn't going to give up too soon so he continued.

"That's good. It's a new year so I hope that you're happy and all..."

"I can't complain..."

Thinking back to her last therapy session with Doctor McRae, Della took in a deep breath and boldly continued talking to ask him how _he_ was getting along before he could say anything else.

"Have you adjusted to being back _home_ in San Francisco?"

Perry felt the sting of her emphasis on referring to San Francisco as his _home_ but he was glad that she was still on the line.

"I'm comfortable in my work routine..." Now _his_ answers were getting short.

"That's nice," Della replied.

Perry couldn't stand the uncomfortable tone to their conversation any longer so he laid it all on the line.

"I really miss seeing you, Della. I wish there was some way that we could get together and stop all of this avoidance we have for each other..."

Della's heart began racing again and she tried her best to keep her composure.

"Well we _will_ be seeing each other – for doing our taxes, anyway. Why don't we set aside some time after we finish with Herman and talk things over?"

Perry never anticipated a reply like that from her and after the initial shock wave, he cheerfully replied.

"I think that's a wonderful idea, Della. I'm looking forward to that!"

"Okay then. Just let me know the date when you get it set up with Herman."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Della. I still love you and I want to work this out..."

"I love you too, Perry. Goodnight."

Della hung up the phone and felt good about herself for getting through the phone call. She stretched her arms over her head and smiled.

" _Connie will be so proud of me for talking that out with him_ ," she thought to herself.

Perry gently put his phone down on the table next to his chair. His heart was beating out of his chest.

" _She said that she loves me! She really said that she loves me_ ," he thought to himself smiling.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Friday, 10 February 1984**

Right away upon entering Doctor McRae's office, Della observed something different about Doctor McRae. She began thinking to herself about what caught her attention as she made her way into the office.

" _Her attire isn't as snug as it used to be. That suit looks a little too large for her_..." Then it

suddenly hit her. Doctor McRae was wearing maternity clothes!

"My goodness, Connie! I was just admiring your attire as I was walking in – I've never seen you wear _that_ outfit before."

The happy expression on Doctor McRae's rosy face said it all.

"I'm glad that you noticed, Della! I've never worn _maternity_ clothes before! I can't believe that I haven't seen you since I got my big news!"

Della smiled and reached her hands out to Doctor McRae who grasped onto Della's hands.

"Well congratulations, Connie! You look wonderful! How do you feel?"

Doctor McRae released Della's hands and directed her to be seated.

"I feel magnificent! I'm only four months along, but I haven't had any problems so far. Have a seat, Della. What can I get you to drink?"

"Why don't _you_ have a seat, Connie? I can find beverages for us. What would _you_ like to drink?"

"Oh, I already have ice water here on my desk, thanks. I _did_ make coffee about an hour ago if you want that, though."

"You just sit down and relax. I can get my own coffee." Della found a cup and began pouring. "I'm so excited for you! What's your due date?" She walked over to her chair and sat down.

"July eleventh! That seems like a long time away to me right now, but my husband and I are so excited. He's helping me decorate a spare bedroom for the nursery. When we first found out that I was pregnant, we just laid in bed that night and started thinking of names for the baby."

Della was grinning ear to ear listening.

"Oh, how sweet! Your husband is probably spoiling you every day!"

"He is. He's been just remarkable. We're very happy! Now enough about me – how are _you_ , Della? I just noticed in my file that we haven't seen each other since November!"

Della got comfortable in her chair.

"Well, I've been awfully busy over the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's went by so fast! As a matter of fact, I even got through all of them without a lot of anguish. I actually spoke with Perry on Christmas Eve..."

"Oh really? How did that go?"

"So-so… I found the courage to call him to thank him for sending me flowers and a nice plant for Christmas. We actually conversed for a while – you know – to find out the plans each of us had for Christmas… The problem came at the end of the call. I didn't have the nerve to say anything back to him when he ended the call telling me that he loves me."

Doctor McRae frowned but was sympathetic.

"Sometimes things don't always turn out the way you had planned. Just having the courage to give him a call to thank him for the gifts was a nice gesture..."

"Well actually, my most _recent_ phone conversation with him went a lot better! Oh, Connie, you'll be so proud of me for this!"

"Oh? What happened?"

"Perry called me to remind me that we have to meet with our accountant to do our taxes. I had completely forgot about our annual trek to do our taxes, so I was a little unprepared for discussing it. Anyway, after we decided that we would meet to do our taxes, I remembered your encouragement to speak with him a little more in depth – you know – to find out what he might be going through. I think I took him a little by surprise. So after a few comments back and forth, I suggested that we meet together after we finish doing our taxes – and he agreed! I was even daring enough at the end of the call to tell him that I love him!"

"Wow, Della! That really showed some strength on your part. I _am_ proud of you! When will this meeting be taking place?"

"In March – on the thirteenth. We have an appointment at three o'clock for taxes and then we're going to go out for coffee or dinner after that..."

"How does this all make you feel inside?"

"At first when we proposed the meeting, I was really happy. I have to admit that as the date draws closer, I've been feeling a little nervous once in a while. But I'm glad that I could share this news with you. Talking with you gives me encouragement."

"I'm very happy for you, Della. I've told you before that I see more resilience in your attitude after every session. I'm confident that meeting with him will help you clarify some of those things that you've had a hard time with."

"I think so, too. But I still plan to meet with you afterwards to tell you all about it – good news or bad!"

"Let's just hope that it's good news, Della – just make it before July!"

They both giggled.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Herman Lowry, CPA** **3pm Tuesday, 13 March 1984**

Perry had taken a late morning flight from San Francisco so he only had a little time to go to the condo in Sherman Oaks and gather his tax documents. After sorting through the receipts and other papers, he tossed them into his briefcase to get to the tax appointment. Perry arrived in Herman Lowry's office just a few minutes before three o'clock.

After the receptionist's announcement of Perry's arrival, Herman opened the door to his office and greeted Perry.

"Come on in, Perry!" He reached out to shake Perry's hand. "How are you?"

"I'm okay – just a little nervous as always about taxes! You look well, Herman..."

"Thanks… Is Della with you?"

"Uh, no… She's coming from work so I think she'll be here any minute now. She's always very punctual..."

"Well, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks. I just want to get this over with. Tax time has always been a bad time of year for me – especially since I left for San Francisco..."

At that time, the receptionist announced Della's arrival and Herman told her to send Della right in. As Della walked in the door, Perry and Herman stood up to greet her. The worried look on her face turned to a smile as she apologized for being late.

"Hello, Perry… Sorry I'm so late, Herman. Traffic on the 405 freeway was miserable as usual..." She took off her gloves and walked further into the room.

"You're right on time, Della. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thanks, Herman. I just want to get this over with!"

Herman laughed.

"Perry just said the same thing! You two always think alike! Have a seat, please."

While Della placed her briefcase on the floor by her chair, Perry helped her to take off her overcoat. He then held her chair for her as she sat down.

Herman put a huge file down on his desk and opened it up.

"Well, shall we begin? Who wants to hand over their paperwork first?"

Perry and Della exchanged glances with each other before Della brought her briefcase onto the desk space in front of her.

"I think I have everything ready to go here." Della placed an orderly stack of documents in front of Herman.

Perry opened his briefcase and took out his paperwork. His stack of papers was a cluttered heap of unorganized documents so he held them back while Herman sorted through Della's papers.

Herman's adding machine clattered along as Herman quickly documented Della's financial figures onto the tax forms.

"Your papers are very organized, Della. I've got all of your information plugged in now… Let's take a look at what Perry has done..."

As he went through Perry's paperwork, Herman was stalled by missing documents.

"I'm missing a few things from you, Perry. Looking back at last year's forms, we filed the 1065 with your capital gains and losses. And I don't see the same 1099's as last year."

Perry dug back into his briefcase but couldn't come up with the paperwork Herman needed.

"Sorry, Herman. I might have left those documents back in San Francisco..."

"No worries, Perry. I can do an estimate for now… I can give you a list of what's missing and you can call me with the figures if they differ a lot from what I estimate." Herman continued punching numbers into the adding machine.

Perry looked over to Della who smugly smiled back at him. He looked away and started looking into his briefcase again until Herman spoke again.

"I just have one more section here and I'll have a tally for you..." He wrote in a few figures on the tax form and gave his report. "It doesn't look too bad this year. Della's documentation helped a lot..."

Perry facial expression was optimistic and Della just grinned at him.

"Maybe I should just file separately next year – I might actually get a tax _refund_ for once," Della gleamed. She quickly winked at Perry, but he had looked away without seeing it.

Herman put the federal tax form in front of them for them to look over.

"Here is what you owe the Feds this time..." Next, he brought out the state tax form and placed it in front of them. "Here is what you'll owe the state. It's a little less than last year all around… I'll just need your signatures on the forms."

After he finished reading the tax forms, Perry looked over to Della.

"I'll take care of what is owed out of my account… If I had better record keeping skills, this might have had a better outcome..."

Della disagreed.

"We should have enough to cover both the state and the feds in our joint account, shouldn't we?"

"Probably. But just let me take care of this..."

Herman interjected with a smile.

"I'll let you two decide who's going to write the checks. But if you'll just sign right now, I'll go make copies of the forms while you two work it out. If you'll need boxing gloves, I can find some in my closet."

Perry grinned.

"No boxing gloves needed, Herman. We'll work this out amicably..."

Within ten minutes, Perry and Della were out the door with their completed tax papers. When they got out into the hallway, Perry helped Della put on her overcoat.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that my temporary assignment to Portland would really hurt..." Perry felt very comfortable being with her.

"And I thought that my trips to Amsterdam and Dallas would hurt a little, too. But I guess it worked out alright..." Della almost felt as if they were back to their old ways.

"Yes. It could have been worse..." Perry changed the subject. "Are you hungry? I thought that we could just grab a bite to eat at Enzo's..."

Della finished putting her gloves on.

"Enzo's will be fine. Hopefully we can find a quiet table in the corner..."

 **Los Angeles, CA Enzo's Italian Restaurant 4:45pm Tuesday, 13 March 1984**

Perry and Della got seated at a table in the back corner of the restaurant and their waiter took their drink orders. While waiting for their Chianti, they both looked over their menus.

Perry couldn't fully concentrate on the menu because just being alone with Della made him feel calm on the outside, but anxious on the inside. He stared at her face – her beautiful face – and longed to just lean across the table and kiss her. Being with her at that moment felt as though the past ten months of misery had never really happened.

Reading the menu was difficult for Della because instead of focusing on what to order, she was wondering how their meeting would turn out. Feeling so comfortable being alone with him felt strange – like the time away from him was just a bad dream that she had just awakened from. The only difference in him that she noticed was his widening girth so she was concerned about his health. She looked up from the menu and saw Perry staring at her.

"Am I holding you up? Do you know what you want to order, Perry?"

"Uh, not exactly… Do you know what you want?"

"Something light if that's possible in an Italian restaurant…"

"We could go somewhere else if you want..."

"No, this is fine..."

"I'm not very hungry right now either – we could share an entree if you'd like."

"That might be best… Don't take this the wrong way, Perry, but are you feeling okay? You're looking a little _pudgy_..."

Perry had to agree with her on that.

"Yes I am a little heavier… I've gotten in the habit of making dinner for two hoping that one night you'd be showing up at my door unexpectedly to resolve our issues..."

Della couldn't resist giving a rather biting reply.

"Well you can stop preparing an extra serving for me hoping that I'll show up at your door. The last time I showed up unexpectedly at your door was a disaster..."

"Touché," Perry replied with a frown.

At that point, their waiter returned with their Chianti and they ordered seafood-stuffed ravioli to share. After the waiter left their table, they both looked around inside the restaurant to avoid looking at each other. There was an awkward moment of silence before Perry finally spoke.

"I'm glad that we're finally meeting. I have to admit that I'm a little uneasy right now..."

"So am I," Della replied.

"Are you really planning to file taxes separately for next year?"

"I was just teasing you when I said that, Perry. I winked at you, but you had already looked away..."

"Oh. I see… That really hit me the wrong way..."

"Sorry..."

"Don't be sorry," Perry sighed. "Look, why don't we just enjoy our meal and talk about something positive?"

Della leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together on her lap.

"Okay. That's a good idea… So, did you see Paul today? He said that you were planning to stop at the condo before you went to Herman's office."

"No. Unfortunately I had to take a later flight than I wanted to. He was gone by the time I got there..."

"I think he was really anxious to see you..."

"I'll be sure to see him before I fly back to San Francisco..."

They both remained silent for a while – both of them struggling to find something interesting to talk about. Their conversation while they ate centered around the weather in Los Angeles and San Francisco. By the time they finished eating, they were discussing whether or not Ronald Reagan would be re-elected as President later that year. They both declined dessert offered by their waiter and ordered coffee when they finished their Chianti.

While Perry was wondering how he could start a conversation about the status of their relationship, Della was concentrating on what she wanted to ask Perry. It was Perry who finally got onto the subject of what he could do to patch up their shaky relationship.

"Obviously things didn't work out very well with us the last time I saw you at the condo. I apologize for upsetting you. I think if you would have stayed around to listen to me, I could have explained everything..."

"I'm ready to listen now..."

"What exactly do you want to know? I've admitted that I made a big mistake with Velma..."

Della took in a deep breath before replying. Visions of the naked Velma Thomas climbing out of the hot tub flashed through her mind.

"What did you see in her, Perry? What was it about her that made you fall into her trap?"

"I wish I knew, Della." Perry paused to get his thoughts together. "At first glance, I saw her as a well-mannered, attractive businesswoman. She appeared to be a class act – her mannerisms, her clothing style, and glittery jewelry. We innocently met for dinner to discuss her charitable ambitions. I truly believed that she was very dedicated to the proposed fundraiser that she wanted me to be a part of. I was flattered that she remembered meeting me at an earlier fundraising event and that she wanted me to be a keynote speaker at the upcoming event..."

Della listened patiently while trying to control the feelings of jealousy that were bouncing around in her head.

"There had to have been some clues that she was not being so honest with you, Perry. You've spent a lifetime practically reading people's minds and sensing that there was something untruthful in their behavior..."

"Apparently I've lost my touch..."

"Ha! You lost your _touch_? That's an understatement," Della sneered.

Now feeling a little frustrated, Della felt her anger building up inside of her. More than anything, she wanted to get her digs into him with a sarcastic reply about his " _touch"_ comment but she kept her comment to herself.

" _You certainly found your touch when you carried on in bed with her_ ," she thought to herself.

Perry brushed off her "understatement" comment and continued.

"I'm not trying to minimize this at all. I'm trying to explain and you're making snide comments. I admit that I was taken in by a deceitful, conniving woman. You're not making this very easy on me..."

After hearing Perry's last words, Della tried to hold back her exasperation but couldn't. She raised her voice a little and let him have it with her words.

"Make it easy on _you_? Are you thinking that this is so easy on _me_? _I_ wasn't the one who had an affair! _You_ were the one who was was weak enough to fall for some seductress in a tight black dress and take her to bed! _You_ were the one who brought that high-class swindler to our home in Carmel and played around with her in our hot tub! Damn it Perry, explaining your actions to me _shouldn't_ be easy on you!"

Perry was looking around and trying to calm her as other diners nearby began to look their way. He motioned for her to quiet down.

"You're right, Della. But would you please try to lower your voice a little?"

Della sat back in her chair, still seething inside, and folded her arms across her chest.

"You've not only lost your touch in judging people's behavior, you've lost your touch in explaining your own poor choices and deflecting the blame onto someone else!"

"I'm _not_ trying to blame anyone else, Della!" Perry's voice began to get a little inflamed by her attitude. "But do you want to know something? None of this would have happened if you had just agreed to meet in Carmel with me back in May! I thought that I had made it clear to you that I was not going to come to LA for that weekend and that your change of plans were not acceptable to me!"

When he finished saying that, he looked across at Della's face and knew right away that he had said the worst possible thing.

It only took Della a second before the shock on her face turned distorted with rage.

"You're putting the blame on me now? _I'm_ to blame for your affair because _I_ didn't give into your demand to come to Carmel that weekend?"

Perry sighed heavily and looked down without replying. He began rubbing his forehead trying to think of some way to take back what he had said.

Della slowly shook her head and looked away from him before continuing in a calmer manner.

"Don't try turning the tables on _me_ , Perry. I thought that we could talk this out in a more civil manner and I would be able to find out why this happened. And all that you can say is that it's my fault for not making definite plans for Carmel. Well do _you_ want to know something? I've been seeing a therapist trying to figure out why I feel the way I do and how I can work on mending our broken relationship..."

Perry stopped rubbing his forehead and began to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, Della. I'm sorry that you had to go to a therapist to talk about our troubles. We should have been able to talk this out between just the two of us..."

"It would be no use trying to talk to you, Perry. You don't _listen_!"

"I _am_ trying to listen to you – to answer your questions..."

"If you were really listening, you wouldn't have put the blame on me for this mess!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way..."

"Well what exactly _did_ you mean?"

Perry sighed again and tried to swallow the lump in his throat that he was feeling.

"I wanted to just say that we were thinking two different things for that weekend. You wanted to change the plans at the last minute and stay in LA. I just wanted to go away to Carmel and relax for the weekend. It's apparent that we didn't listen to each other."

"My point exactly..."

"Look, you wanted the whole story from me and I've been truthful with you about it. Hearing the truth has made you even angrier at me."

"I _am_ still very angry with you, Perry! Sometimes I think that I don't understand you at all!"

"And I don't understand your reluctance to work this out with me. All you can tell me is that you're so frustrated with me, that you have to see a therapist about this whole ordeal. Why can't we fix this ourselves?"

"Seeing a therapist helps me to know what's going on in my head. I'm able to see both the good things and the bad things in our relationship. Right now I'm trying to understand the bad things. And now you say that I'm to blame for this whole mess."

"I said that I didn't mean it that way."

"Well for some reason it came out of your mouth that way..." Della looked away and paused. "It's been _hard_ on me being away from you – and I mean to say that it all began when you left for San Francisco. I think that we were growing apart way back then. Now there are times when I value my independence. I don't need to be arranging things for you in your life – _you_ take your suits to the cleaners. _You_ make your own doctor and dentist appointments. _You_ pay your own bills. And apparently you don't have very good record keeping skills since a few of your tax documents were missing. But you're probably feeling more self-reliant not having me around..." She sighed and reached for her coffee.

Perry thought about what she was saying for a while.

"It sounds to me like you're better off without me..."

Della took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before replying.

"I honestly don't know what to think anymore… This discussion isn't going anywhere. I have work to do at home so I need to leave..." She picked up her purse and put it on the table.

Perry signaled their waiter for the check.

"Please wait for a minute. I agree that there's more that we have to talk about. I'm sorry that you feel that we've drifted apart. I guess that we can't expect to clear this all up in just one dinner meeting."

Della stood up after Perry took care of the check.

"I think that we both need a little more time to think about this."

"Okay. I'll do whatever you want, Della."

"Thanks for dinner, Perry. Take care of yourself. I'll be in touch."

She gave Perry a soft kiss on his cheek and walked away.

Feeling crestfallen, Perry could only sigh as he watched her leave.

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all of the comments and reviews. I promise that it will get better soon! If you think it's hard to _read_ about them being apart, just imagine how hard it is for me to _write_ this!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 4pm Friday, 16 March 1984**

Doctor McRae met Della at her office door and welcomed her inside. Della smiled as she saw that Doctor McRae's baby bump was a lot more noticeable than the last time they had met.

"You look wonderful, Connie. How do you feel?"

"I feel great, Della. The question is, how are _you_ doing?"

Noticing that Doctor McRae already had a beverage on her desk, Della poured a cup of coffee for herself and sat down. She let out a heavy sigh as she leaned back in her chair.

"I'm exhausted, but I'm doing just fine. It's just been crazy at work. Mister Gordon goes away for a few days just about every week, and when he gets back, the work is piled onto my desk. I enjoy staying busy, but with the planning that goes into opening a new office in Chicago, I barely have any free time. I'm starting my weekend right now – and when I get home I plan to plant the lily that Perry gave me for Christmas before I relax the rest of the weekend!"

"That's good that you'll be able to relax. And how are things going with Perry?"

The smile on Della's face turned to a look of uncertainty.

"We went out to dinner after we met with our accountant to do our taxes earlier this week."

"Is that why you look so wary right now?"

"Probably… I'll tell you right away that I had a lot of pent up anger in me and I sort of let it all out at one point." Della gently rubbed her forehead. "On one hand, I feel a little bad about that. But on the other hand, I'm glad that I let him know that I'm not very happy with him."

"How did you do that?"

"Well for one thing, after I raised my voice a little he hushed me."

"What were you talking about?"

"That other woman. Apparently I hit a nerve with him and he told me that a snide comment I made earlier was not making it very easy on _him_! Our whole conversation was a jumbled mess from start to finish."

"Tell me more..."

"At one point, he actually said that _I_ was to blame for this problem because I didn't want to join him in Carmel that weekend. I was sort of shocked by that statement. Then I told him that I was so disappointed in how this whole situation was playing out, that I was seeing a therapist. I didn't mention your name, though. I think he was a bit concerned about that – even apologized that I had to take such drastic measures because of him… He got so defensive!"

"How about you? Were you on the defense, too?"

"I _had_ to defend myself, Connie! It really irked me that he thought I was to blame for everything. I told him that I think we started drifting apart in our relationship when he left for San Francisco..."

"What did he say to that?"

" _He_ thinks that _I_ think that I'm better off without him… I told him that I don't know what to think about us anymore. At least we both agreed that our meeting that night was not going anywhere."

"So is that the point where your meeting ended?"

"Yes. I was tired and I didn't feel like bickering with him anymore. I think we were both distracted and not making any sense. I was hoping for a more structured discussion, but we kept jumping around on different scenarios. I think we both knew that we weren't going to clear this up in just one sitting."

"So what's your plan now?"

"That's the problem. I don't have a plan. Our discussion isn't finished. I think we both need time to sort out what was said. I want to see him again when I've had more time to organize my thoughts. I just wanted to try and understand _why_ he ended up with that woman and it all blew up into a blame game."

"Do you have a timeline in mind for thinking it over and meeting with him again?"

"Right now I'm putting in a lot of effort into opening our new expansion office in Chicago. That should be taken care of by the end of April. I'm hoping by May that we'll meet again." Della sighed thinking about May.

"It all started a year ago in May… Maybe it will all be resolved _this_ May..."

 **San Fransisco, CA The Bohemian Club 7pm Friday, 16 March 1984**

Perry had attended a committee meeting and was about to leave the club when John Wilburn called out to him.

"Perry! Do you have time for a drink?"

"Hi, John… I can spare enough time for _one_ drink. How was _your_ committee meeting?"

They both began walking into the bar area of the club.

"It was okay. Our club's entertainment committee meetings always run very well. Which brings me to the subject of the annual Springtime dinner and dance that we're planning. I didn't see your name on the list of attendees this year..."

They made it to the bar to order their drinks and then found a table nearby for sitting.

"I won't be going to the dinner and dance next weekend," Perry replied before taking a sip of his bourbon on-the-rocks.

John looked a little bewildered.

"Not going? May I ask why not?"

"Ah, you know, John. It's the dance thing – Della won't be here with me this year. It's just not my thing when I'm alone..."

"I've told you before that there are other club members that show up alone also. It's not all about dancing, you know." John packed tobacco into his pipe and lit it.

"Yeah, I know that. But I've got other things to do next weekend..."

"Oh? Like what for instance?"

"The sportsmen's show is at the convention center next weekend. There's a fishing seminar I want to go to on Saturday. I can also check out all of the latest fishing tackle. On Sunday, there's a hunting presentation that I'm interested in also."

"You could always find time after the sportsmen's show to come by the club afterwards. You can pass on all the information you get with a few of the other guys. If the guys aren't dancing, you could at least socialize with them."

"The only one I know of that would be interested in hunting or fishing is Ron Greer and he's not going either. I talked with him right before my committee meeting tonight. We're going to do some skeet shooting the following weekend out on his ranch. I've heard that he's got quite the setup for clay targets."

"Well I'm glad that you're getting out once in a while. I haven't talked to you for so long. How was your trip to LA for taxes?"

Perry sat back in his chair and looked around the room while swirling the bourbon around in his glass.

"Taxes went okay. I owe a few grand," he replied a little nervously.

"Did Della show up?"

"Yes..."

John waited for Perry to say more but Perry did not elaborate on his reply.

"And?"

"And what? We got our taxes done and that's about it..."

John shook his head and slowly exhaled his pipe smoke.

"There's got to be more to the story than that, Perry."

"Ha! At one point she mentioned filing taxes as _single_ next year instead of _jointly_. She was taking a subtle jab at me because I didn't exactly have all of my paperwork in order this year..."

"It sounds like she was just teasing you..."

"I suppose..."

"What happened after that?"

"Not much..."

Reading the distressed look on Perry's face, John knew that Perry had a lot more to say, but just wasn't saying it.

"I think that I'll have to drag it out of you, Perry. You don't look so happy talking about Della. You told me that you were going to talk with her after you got your taxes done. So what's going on with you two? Did you have a talk with her?"

Perry let out a heavy sigh and looked around the room.

"Yes we met. We had dinner. I probably said a few things that I shouldn't have. She got angry with me again." Perry rubbed his forehead. "We didn't accomplish anything."

"So when will you see her again?"

"I probably won't be seeing her again, John. I've given up. She deserves better than me. I'm going to let her go..." Perry chugged the rest of his drink down and placed his empty glass down on the table. "I should get going now, John."

John grabbed onto Perry's arm.

"You're not going anywhere, my friend. If I have to sit here all night and drink a fifth of bourbon or a pot of coffee with you, we're going to discuss this nonsense of you letting her go! So which is it? Another drink or are we starting on a fresh pot of coffee?"

Perry looked away again frowning and after a moment, he caught the bartender's attention.

"May we have another round here, please? And after that we'll need a pot of the strongest coffee you can make..."

Grinning, John slowly nodded his head and released his grip on Perry's arm.

"Now you're making sense, Perry. I'm ready to listen when you're ready to talk..."

Perry relaxed a little before sharing his story.

"I felt so comfortable being with her. It was like the past ten months never happened. We started talking and she wanted to know what attracted me to that devious woman, Velma Thomas. Apparently my answer was not enough to satisfy her curiosity. She probably thought that I was downplaying my interaction with that woman. I said something like she wasn't being very easy on me as I tried to explain and she lost her temper."

"She scolded you?"

"Very much so. I always seem to say the wrong thing."

"It sounds like she had built up a lot of bitterness about this whole situation, and rightfully so. She took it out on you in frustration."

"It got a lot worse when we bickered back and forth about how this whole mess started. By mistake, I sort of made it sound like it was _her_ fault for not deciding to come to Carmel in the first place."

"Ouch. Big mistake, Perry."

"Don't I know it! I just don't know how to talk to her at all anymore. You're an expert, John. How do I talk to her?"

The bartender brought their new drinks, cleared away the empty glasses, and left.

John exhaled a couple more puffs of smoke from his pipe before answering.

"Good communication between men and women has always had its difficulties. Even after being with the same person for a long time, messages are not always sent and received the same way."

"But Della and I have always understood each other. We practically read each others' minds..."

"Maybe so – but that was when you were with each other _every_ day."

"True. I've said this before – I probably made a big mistake leaving LA for the Bench in San Francisco. She sort of alluded to that when we talked. How did our communication break down?"

"Most women will disagree with what I'm about to tell you, but man-to-man, let me tell you what I think. Women send mixed signals all the time. We men have to try and interpret those signals. We guess a lot – and hopefully guess correctly – but that comes with a lot of practice. We practice by being with the same woman for a long time. Take, for example, giving her a gift for any occasion. She sends a signal by smiling and showing that she's happy with the gift. You might get a hug, a kiss, or some other verbal gratitude. We've learned what pleases her. But let's say that she wants feedback on the attire she's wearing, or a new hairstyle. Say the wrong thing about it and look out!"

"I've always complimented her on her looks. She has excellent taste in her clothing and hairdo. There are no mixed signals there..."

"Well here's another example. Say, for instance, she tells you that she wants an easier way to keep the house tidy. What would you guess that she's really saying?"

"She's probably saying that I should hire a housekeeper for her."

John shook his head.

"You're not even close, Perry. I asked that question of another man who was having marital issues. He replied that he thinks she wants him to buy her a new vacuum cleaner. You both have missed her signal. She's merely hinting that she wants _your_ _help_ keeping the place clean by picking up after yourself – put your dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, hang up your bath towel, clean up the dirty dishes after a meal."

Perry sighed.

"I do those things all the time, John."

"You're missing my point, Perry. Her signals can be hints or her signals can be direct statements. It's obvious that you're out of practice because you're living apart."

"Do you think that she's hinting that I should move back to LA?"

"You said it earlier when you mentioned that you made a big mistake going to San Francisco. She sent you a signal and you probably missed it."

"I _didn't_ miss it, John. I clearly saw that signal. She said that she's enjoying her independence being away from me. She added that she thinks that I don't need her anymore."

"What was your reply to that?"

"I admitted that she probably _is_ better off without me..."

John shook his head again as the bartender arrived back at their table with a pot of coffee and two cups.

"Perry, you're hopeless! Neither one of you is better off without the other. Let's start working on your communication skills..."

"Okay, John. First I'll learn how to speak with her. Then I need to figure out a way to actually see her in person again..."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Carmel, CA 3pm Friday, 3 August 1984**

After leaving the real estate office, Perry made his way back to the beachfront home that he had shared with Della for over twenty-five years. Making his way inside of the home, he reminisced to himself about all of the good times they had shared in this place. It was the perfect hideaway place for long weekends or even longer vacations away from Los Angeles back when he was practicing law.

" _And then I went and ruined everything_ ," he thought to himself as he dropped his overnight bag on the entryway floor. " _I hate to have to sell this place, but since Della won't ever come back here, what good_ _would it do_ _to keep_ _it_?"

For the past five months he hadn't even talked with Della. He had gotten a few voicemails from her about her trips to Chicago, but she usually ended the calls by saying that there was no need to call her back. So he didn't. It was driving him crazy so he finally decided to take some advice from Doctor John Wilburn – to find some excuse – _any_ excuse – to call her and actually speak with her.

" _You've been moping around_ _and fishing too much_ _all Summer, Perry_ ," Doctor Wilburn would say. " _Put away the gear you're using to catch fish, and go after_ _Della_ _! Use the right bait and see if she bites. When she bites, slowly reel her in. If she fights, have a net ready and try to land her. Once you've caught her, don't let her go. You know what you_ _should_ _say to her now, so go out and get her_!"

" _Selling the home here in Carmel might just be the right bait_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _I can't sell it without her signatures on the paperwork, so she'll_ _actually_ _have to see me in person_."

As he continued walking through the house, Perry reflected back on how the place looked when they first bought it, and how many improvements they had made over the years. Della had replaced the furniture at least twice since they moved in. The kitchen was upgraded within the first five years. The artwork hanging on the walls was either bought from the local galleries in Carmel, or even created by Della after her abbreviated art school classes in Paris. Other art objects were added from places they had visited all over the world. Walking into the master bedroom, he stopped dead in his tracks. There in the middle of the room was the jacuzzi hot tub that they so joyously added as a wedding gift to themselves. But now it was just an unsettling reminder of his serious lack of judgment when he made the biggest mistake of his life bringing another woman into this home.

Perry left the master bedroom right away and returned to the living room area to retrieve his briefcase. He walked down the hallway to the den area to begin organizing the tasks that he needed to do to get the home ready to sell.

It was after eight o'clock that evening when he finished having a quiet dinner at a restaurant in town and returned to the house after a stop at the market to buy groceries for his weekend stay. While eating his dinner he was constantly thinking about what he would say to Della about his proposal to sell the house. By eight-thirty he was settled into an easy chair in the living room and made the call to Della.

Her weary-sounding "Hello" made Perry wonder if he was doing the right thing calling her on a Friday evening.

"Hello, Della. It's me, Perry."

"Oh, hello…"

"Did I call you at a bad time?"

"No. It's fine. Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. I'm at the house in Carmel and wondering if you are still serious about never wanting to return here..."

There was a long pause before she replied.

"I can't think of any reason that I would want to go back there. If you're planning to sell it, that's fine with me."

" _She's a damn mind reader_ ," Perry thought to himself before he continued.

"It only makes sense to sell it if you're not ever coming back. I don't enjoy being here by myself so I have no reason to keep it. I spoke with a realtor here today that says there are a few people that are very interested in buying the property if the price is right..."

Della sighed.

"Just do what you want with it, Perry. I removed all of _my_ things from the place a long time ago."

"I noticed a few things here that you've left behind. Two of your drawings, the pottery pieces over the fireplace mantel, and the wooden eagle sculpture that I bought you are all still here..."

"Well I have nowhere to put them here, so just keep them for yourself if you want them."

Their conversation was not going as well as Perry would have liked. Frustrated by her short replies, he tried to keep her on the line to further assess her attitude. He decided that it was time to put the ball in her court.

"I'm sensing that if you want nothing to do with the house and now you don't want any of our art collection, that you no longer want anything to do with me either..." Perry held his breath waiting for her reply.

Della took a moment to collect her thoughts before carefully responding.

"Let's just settle down here a bit, Perry. You called about my thoughts on selling the house and what I want to do with some of the decorations I decided to leave behind. It's not fair to either of us to discuss our relationship status over the phone..."

"Then when can we meet again? I'm trying to be very patient with you over this situation, but right now it's very apparent to me that you still aren't ready to work this out." His level of frustration was beginning to rise and he tried to control it.

"That's not true, Perry! I _do_ think about about us a lot. But right now I have an important project going on with my job and it needs my undivided attention. Please just give me more time and I promise you that we'll find a way to meet."

Perry let out a heavy sigh before deciding to end the call.

"Fine. You have my number when you find the time to want to talk about this. In the meantime, I'll be putting the home in Carmel on the market. Goodbye, Della."

Della was mildly upset when Perry ended the call before she could say goodbye. With Doctor McRae out of the office on maternity leave for another month, Della reflected back on the advice she had been given by Doctor McRae on coping with disappointment.

" _Don't let this get you down, Della_ ," she thought to herself. " _Just keep thinking positive that when things slow down at work, you'll make this all work out with Perry – somehow – some day_."

By the end of the month Perry's plan to meet with Della over the sale of their home in Carmel never happened. At Della's request, the papers she was required to sign for selling the home were sent to Los Angeles by courier. When his plan to see her in person failed, Perry once again decided to give up.

 **P** **MXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA The Bohemian Club 6pm Wednesday, 26 September 1984**

Doctor John Wilburn saw Perry standing with a group of other members outside of the club's auditorium.

"Perry! Are you going to the presentation tonight on financial planning?"

Perry broke away from the group and approached John.

"I wasn't planning on it. I already have a financial advisor. I told one of the guys that I'd meet him here tonight to look over some legal documents that he doesn't understand..."

"Well, I just haven't seen you in a while. I thought that maybe we can catch up on the latest news."

Perry thought it over.

"Why don't we meet in the bar later on? How long is your presentation going to last?"

"That all depends on whether or not he gets to the topic that I'm interested in hearing about. Why don't you just go and give your legal advice and I'll just meet you in the bar in about a half an hour?"

By six-thirty Perry and John were seated in the bar with their drinks. After lighting his pipe, John started their conversation.

"So where have you been lately, Perry? Still fishing in your free time? I thought I would have seen you here a few weeks ago for committee meetings."

"I've been busy going back and forth to Carmel. Before I could put the place up for sale, I had to clear out a lot of stuff. Most of it went to Los Angeles and into a secure, climate-controlled storage unit."

"So did you see Della at all?"

Perry sighed and shook his head.

"No. I talked to her on the phone about selling the place because she told me that she was never going back there. I was hoping that we would have to meet in person for that, but it didn't happen. She's been so busy at her damn job that the paperwork for the home sale was mailed to her for signatures..."

"Well at least you tried. What's your plan now?"

Perry looked down and swirled the ice around in his drink.

"Plan? I don't have any more plans, John. I haven't heard from her in over a month. I give up. I get the feeling that she doesn't want to work this out at all. She avoids every attempt to meet. So I just give up."

John took a sip of his drink.

"You can't give up, Perry. You still love her don't you? I think that she's using her job to keep her mind off of your separation right now. Has she told you anything more about her job?"

"The last that I heard from her, she was involved with opening another facility in Chicago. At one point she was hoping to be finished with that in April. Ha! That was wishful thinking. She's been back and forth to Chicago all summer…"

"I can only advise you to be patient, Perry. You're still in love with her and want to be back in her life. Don't give up!"

"We've been apart over sixteen months now, John. I get the feeling that she's moved on to bigger and better things – and I'm no longer part of her life."

When John Wilburn got home that night, he paged through his phone book looking for Paul Drake's number.

" _I've got a plan for Perry to see Della_ ," he thought to himself while punching in Paul's home number. " _And_ _Paul Drake is going to have to help me out with_ _some vital information to make this plan work_..."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Air Flight from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA 9am Saturday, 3 November 1984**

Ten minutes into the airline flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the pilot spoke on the loudspeaker system with the flight status.

"Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen. We've reached our cruising altitude for our flight to Los Angeles. Our flight time is fifty-eight minutes and we expect an on-time arrival. Our flight attendants will start a beverage service shortly. Enjoy your flight."

Perry relaxed in the first-class seat next to John Wilburn and still couldn't believe that he was taking a trip to Los Angeles for the weekend.

"I can't believe that you talked me into coming along with you to a fundraiser this weekend, John."

"Oh come on, Perry. You need to do something on the weekend besides fishing all the time. Besides, I told you that I was registered for two persons for this event, and now that Betty couldn't come along, you were a good choice to be my ' _guest_ '."

"I should have just written you a check to bring along as a donation. It would have saved airfare and hotel costs. Which reminds me, why are we staying at the hotel? I still have a condo in Sherman Oaks to stay in..."

"Stop your whining, Perry. The event is being held at the hotel and for a large donation to the charity, the room is deeply discounted. Just like me, you're a sucker for charities involving children so I hope you remembered to bring your checkbook."

Perry patted the upper part of his suit coat.

"Of course I brought my checkbook. I just hope that this children's charity fundraiser doesn't land me in any trouble like the last children's charity I was fooled into supporting."

John chuckled.

"I'll keep an eye on you, Perry. If I even suspect that any woman there is going to try and lure you away, I'll step in right away."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about me and any women at this event. Just look at me – I've gained forty pounds in the last year and this graying beard is probably a turn-off to most women..."

"There's another reason that you need to quit fishing so often – you don't take time to shave your face!"

"Maybe I grew this beard to keep the women away. You want to know something, John? It's always the girls that have coaxed me into asking them out on dates. There was a friend of the family back on her father's farm that I was visiting in Oregon. She was about seven or eight years old and wanted to marry me!"

"How old were _you_? There's laws about that sort of thing!"

"I was nine – and I know all about those laws!" Perry sighed. "It was like I never _chose_ a girl to date – even in high school or college – they just seemed to _conspire_ to get me to ask them out. And even when I got out of the Navy and was finishing law school, it was Laura who latched onto me. I was always sort of uncomfortable with that… And then along came Della."

"Aha! So Della came on to you like all of the others?"

Perry slowly shook his head and thought back to seeing Della for the first time early in his days in the Navy. They were at a dance at a USO Canteen near Long Beach.

"Oh no! Della was _nothing_ like all of the others. One look at her and a few slow dances later and I was completely captivated by her. I just knew right away that she was the one for me. I'll tell you John. It was fate that brought us together. Over the years I'd asked her to marry me no fewer than a dozen times, and she wouldn't say 'yes'. But in Paris when she finally agreed to marry me, I was over the moon. And look at us now..."

John listened to Perry's story and just nodded.

" _My plan for this weekend just has to work_ ," he thought to himself. " _Their time apart from each other needs to end – and soon_!"

Upon their arrival in Los Angeles, John and Perry got checked into their suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and made their way into the bar for a small bite to eat for lunch. The fundraiser was scheduled to begin at six o'clock and included a dinner, and they had over six hours to wait for the black-tie affair. The registration and a cocktail hour was going to open by five o'clock.

All dressed up in their tuxedos, John and Perry made their way down to the ballroom at five o'clock. A large banner was draped across the entrance to the ballroom announcing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fundraiser as well-dressed couples walked inside beneath the banner.

"We'll be checking in under my name, Perry. At some point, I think you'll have to give them your name."

A billboard outside of the ballroom caught Perry's attention before they walked inside.

"Go ahead, John. I'll be right behind you in a minute."

" _Perfect_ ," John thought to himself. " _That will give me time to get things going at the registration table_!"

John walked up to the registration table right away as other couples were walking away. As he approached the table, the woman in charge of registering the guests recognized him immediately.

"John Wilburn! I don't believe it!" Della Street quickly extended her hand over the table to shake his hand.

"You've never looked lovelier, Della." John gently took her hand and brought it to his lips for a light kiss.

Della smiled at him – her eyes sparkling with delight as she began paging through the guest list to sign John in.

"I see you have a guest registered with you tonight. Is Betty with you?"

"Uh, no, she couldn't make the trip this weekend. I brought along a friend instead. He should be right behind me any minute now."

"Well in the meantime, here's your dinner table assignment and your bid number for the silent auction. I'll just need the name of your guest so I can record his name for the silent auction bid number also."

The direct view of Perry standing behind John was blocked from Della's sight until Perry stepped closer to the table to announce his presence.

"I'm the guest of Doctor John Wilburn tonight. My name is Perry Mason..."

John stepped aside and watched as the expression on Della's face went from a look of happiness to a look of nervous surprise. He took that opportunity to leave them alone.

"I'm glad that he's introduced himself to you for me, Della. I wondered if you'd recognize him now that he's misplaced his shaving razor for the past few months. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get inside and look over the silent auction merchandise."

John walked away leaving them alone at the registration table. Perry saw how uneasy Della was with his unexpected appearance and broke their momentary silence.

"Hello, Della. You, uh, look wonderful – as always – tonight..."

"Thank you. It's – uh – nice to see you, Perry. It's quite a surprise."

"This is quite a surprise for me, too. I had no idea that you'd be here. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. I'll gladly go away if this is bothering you..."

The smile returned to Della's face.

"No, it's fine, Perry. I think this was a subtle set up by John." She nervously shuffled the papers on the table in front of her and began writing up Perry's registration. "Here, I'll give you your bidding number for the silent auction. You may as well go inside and enjoy the evening."

As she handed Perry his paperwork, Perry gently held onto her arm.

"I know that you're really busy right now, but do you think that we can find some time to meet later? No pressure or no real agenda. I just think it would be nice to talk to you as long as I'm here."

"That sounds like a good idea, Perry. After the program I'll come over to your table and maybe we can arrange a time and place to talk."

Perry smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Della. I'll see you later."

 **TBC**

Thank you again for your patience in waiting for each chapter to get posted. I appreciate your comments and reviews. Can anyone name the TV episode that Perry mentions his marriage proposal at an early age in?


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

 **Los Angeles, CA Beverly Wilshire Hotel Lounge 10pm Saturday, 3 November 1984**

After nervously checking his wristwatch for the third time in five minutes, Perry resumed thinking of how he was going to have a productive conversation with Della – _if_ she was actually going to show up to meet with him. She promised a ten o'clock meeting and it was already nearing ten minutes after the hour.

" _Listen to what she wants to say and don't get defensive_ ," Perry said to himself. " _Remember what John_ _advised_ _– try to interpret her signals and take a moment before you comment_."

He spotted her at the entry door to the lounge and Perry immediately got up from his seat as Della walked inside.

Scanning the inside of the lounge, Della saw him right away and made her way to his table. She watched as he stood to greet her – as always looking so handsome in his tuxedo with his big blue eyes fixed on her as she approached. Arriving at his table, he held a chair for her to be seated on.

"I'm sorry that I'm late, Perry. There are always so many things to take care of after the event. And when Arthur Gordon's name is associated with these fundraisers, I have to make sure everything is done to perfection," she said while getting settled into the chair.

"It's no problem, Della," he replied as he sat down across the table from her. "I know how you like to make sure that everything is taken care of to _your_ standards at the end of these events… What would you like to drink? I ordered this pot of coffee and snifter of brandy about five minutes ago, but if you'd like something else..."

Della turned over a coffee cup from the place setting in front of her on the table.

"Just coffee is fine, thank you – but I might take a sip of your brandy later, too."

He moved the brandy snifter across the table closer to her. While filling Della's cup with coffee, Perry decided to get Della relaxed and began making small talk.

"You mentioned that Mister Gordon is associated with _fundraisers_ – as in plural. How many others are there with his name on them?"

"That's a good question. He has at least a dozen charitable causes that he's a part of. Now he's asked me to organize them and create separate foundations for each cause – you know – for example putting all of the children's charities in one foundation, computer educational charities in another, and charities related to environmental causes in yet another. By the time I get all of this organized, he may have at least four or five different foundations."

"Very impressive." Perry smiled and made direct eye contact with her. "He's certainly chosen the right person for a job that important..."

"I guess that I enjoy the challenge." Della looked away and took a sip of her coffee as a server came to their table.

"I see that you've poured yourself coffee to drink," the server noted. "Can I interest either of you in dessert or anything else on the menu this evening?"

Perry studied Della's face and watched it light up at the mention of dessert.

" _There's a sign_ ," he thought to himself.

"I think the lady would like to see a dessert menu, please..."

The server immediately placed a dessert menu in front of each of them.

"Our special tonight is a pineapple coconut mousse, but we also have a wide assortment of pies and cake that will also delight you."

Della politely nodded at the server and told him that she would like a minute to look at the menu.

"Very well, ma'am. I'll check back with you shortly."

Della justified her late evening sweet tooth to Perry as she perused the menu.

"I was so busy with the event tonight, I barely touched my dinner and completely missed dessert..."

Perry grinned at her and nodded.

"I noticed that you barely had time to sit down as the program began tonight. I hope that now you can relax a little and enjoy a nice dessert. I know how much you love dessert."

"Some things never change," Della nodded and smiled back at him. "But _you've_ changed a little. Your beard is a big appearance change for you. It hides your dimples. What made you decide to grow a beard if I may ask?"

Perry shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know why exactly. I thought it would cover my chubby cheeks I suppose. Obviously there's no covering my chubby belly..."

Perry noticed the worried look on Della's face as she replied.

"Are you feeling okay, Perry?"

"I'm feeling fine. I just don't get enough exercise anymore."

Before Della could comment further, their server returned to take their dessert order and looked directly at Della.

"I'd love a piece of plain cherry pie, please."

"Very good, ma'am. And for you, sir?"

Suddenly very conscious of his dramatic weight gain, Perry declined dessert and the server left to get Della's pie.

While Perry poured himself more coffee, Della continued her conversation where she left off.

"If you're not getting out and exercising, what _are_ you doing with your free time?" Della took a sip of Perry's brandy.

Perry watched as Della sipped the brandy and took a moment before answering.

"Not much. I just spend a lot of time reading either in the law library at work, or at home… I get out fishing occasionally, too," he added.

"Some things never change," Della retorted in a teasing manner.

They seemed to tip-toe around each other with small talk while Della ate her pie and they ordered more coffee. Perry finally became a little impatient and wanted to talk about something other than her busy schedule or the change in his appearance.

"I'm glad that you could meet with me even though you had no idea that I'd be here tonight. It's been so long since we've actually talked to each other..."

"It _has_ been a while and I apologize for that. I've had so many other things on my mind lately and I was always hoping for the perfect opportunity to call you. Our last meeting was not very productive and I was thinking that by organizing my thoughts, I could say exactly what I want to say..."

"I'm willing to listen. Tell me what's bothering you the most, Della. Tell me what I can do to fix this."

Della looked up and around the room searching for the right words to say.

"You have your concerns about all of this and obviously so do I. Why don't we bring our concerns out in the open one by one and talk them out?"

Leaning forward in his chair with his elbows resting on the table and his hands clasped together, Perry replied.

"Ladies first..."

Della leaned back in her chair and re-crossed her legs slowly shifting one over the other.

"Fine… I'll start by saying that this long distance _marriage_ is not working. I feel like our relationship is more like a _friendship_ than a marriage. I can't help but thinking that this all started when _you_ chose to leave for San Francisco."

Perry was immediately concerned by her reference to their relationship being compared to a friendship but he kept his composure before responding.

"You know how hard I've tried to transfer to Los Angeles since my appointment to the bench..."

"Really," Della questioned him with a raised brow. "There have been four other new justices appointed to the bench in LA in the past four years. Exactly how hard are you trying?"

A frown appeared on Perry's face as he calmly tried to explain the difficulties of transferring.

"Appointments to the Federal Appeals Court locations are not based on seniority, Della. You know as well as I do that it's all politically motivated. I try to base my legal decisions on what is reasonable and just – not based on which political party is in power. By staying politically neutral, I have no clout when it comes to assignments..."

"Well in my opinion, you just seem very content to stay in San Francisco..." Della reached for the brandy again.

"And you seem to be just as content to stay in LA..."

"I _am_ very content staying in LA, Perry. I enjoy my job. I enjoy being near my friends and staying involved with community projects. I'm actually adjusting very well to being on my own lately." She anxiously waited to see and hear his reaction to her remarks thinking that she may have stepped over the line.

Perry was not happy with her last comment but tried not to show his true emotions. He quickly summarized her statements in his mind but couldn't get over her reference to comparing their marriage to more of a friendship status. He was devastated to hear her say that she was adjusting very well to being on her own.

" _She's giving you all the hints that you should be interpreting_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _Does she want to continue with this separation or worse yet – does she want to end this relationship?_ _There's only one way to find out._ "

Sitting back in his chair, Perry decided to take a direct approach. He looked her in the eye and asked, "Do you want a divorce?"

Della immediately broke eye contact with him and fixed her gaze on the coffee cup in front of her. Before she could answer, the hotel event manager approached the table and got Della's attention.

"Please excuse me, Miss Street. There's an important phone call waiting for you in my office. It's Mister Gordon and he needs to speak to you right away..."

After taking her napkin from her lap and placing it onto the table, Della immediately stood up.

"I better take this call, Perry. Please excuse me for just a moment." She gathered her purse and followed the event manager to his office.

The server returned to Perry's table after seeing Della leave. While he removed Della's empty dessert plate, Perry ordered another brandy.

Within five minutes, Della had finished her call from Mister Gordon and was walking back to the lounge thinking about Perry's question.

" _Why is he talking about divorce?_ _I hope he's not seriously considering a divorce. I haven't given him any indication that I want to end our marriage, have I_?"

When Perry saw Della walking back into the lounge, he stood up to assist her into her chair again as she apologized for the intrusion.

"Is everything okay," Perry calmly inquired.

"It's fine. Mister Gordon just informed me that we'll be leaving unexpectedly for Boston first thing in the morning." She paused as their server brought the brandy that Perry ordered. When the server left the table, she continued.

"I'm concerned about your mention of a divorce, Perry. Is that what you want?"

"No…"

"Well, neither do I..."

Perry was relieved that she didn't want a divorce, but didn't want to press her on the separation issue.

"I'm glad to hear that. That tells me that you want to work this out."

"Of course I do..." Della paused. "It's just not so easy to talk about this and work this out when we're living four hundred miles apart."

"True..." Perry paused to rub his forehead before he continued. "So, what happens now?"

"I wish I knew," Della replied with a weary look on her face.

"We're at a crossroads here. You're enjoying your job here in LA and I have a rather important position in San Francisco."

"I wouldn't call it a crossroads situation, Perry. It's more of a stalemate..."

"I suppose it _is_ a stalemate. Our original plan for you to join me in San Francisco fell apart when you chose to get a job working for Arthur Gordon. Now I'm alone in San Francisco and you're alone in LA and we're divided. Do you really need a job with Arthur Gordon now that Paul is out of college and on his own?"

The look of annoyance on Della's face was a sure sign that Perry had asked her the wrong thing, and her reply put him in his place.

"Do you really need to be a Judge on the Appeals Court?"

Knowing that he was out of line asking about her job, he tried to save himself.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way that it came out. The point I was trying to make is that you don't need to be tied down to such a demanding job now. We have more than enough assets in the bank to live on comfortably."

Della quickly cut in.

"Then why do you still want to work in San Francisco?"

Perry let out a heavy sigh and replied.

"So, we really _are_ at an impasse here..."

"I think so..." Della looked away from him towards the entry to the lounge.

Perry followed her gaze and saw a man standing at the door.

"Someone you know?"

"He's my driver. Mister Gordon prefers that I use a company driver to and from these events..."

"That's a good idea when you're out late."

"Yes it is… I better be going now," she said as she stood up from the table and put her purse on her arm.

Perry stood up right away and Della stepped towards him with outstretched arms. As he pulled her into a cozy embrace, he inhaled her heavenly scent and buried his cheek into her soft hair. She tightly gripped his shoulders with her hands and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. When he felt her moving away, he was reluctant to let her go, but he relaxed his hold on her to let her leave.

"When will I see you again, Della?"

She was starting to turn away, but stopped to answer him.

"Maybe we'll meet again when we've figured out a way to end this stalemate. Good night, Perry."

He didn't want her to go, but knew that there was no way to keep her there with him.

"I love you, Della..."

"I love you, too, Perry," Della said softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I really need to go." She turned and walked away.

After watching her walk out of the lounge, Perry sat back down at the table and took the brandy snifter into his hands.

" _It's a good sign that she doesn't want a divorce_ ," he thought to himself. " _Maybe John Wilburn is right – I just have to be patient with her and wait this out_." He swirled the brandy around in the glass before taking a big gulp. " _And she said she loves me. That's a good sign, too_..." He finished the brandy and asked the waiter for the tab.

Della got into the vehicle with the company driver and told him that she would need to go into her office before she goes home. On her ride to the office, her mind was going back and forth about the things she would need from the office to bring along to Boston in the morning. But she was also thinking about her unexpected meeting and conversation with Perry.

" _Perry really made sense_ ," she thought to herself. " _Why do I need to continue working for Arthur Gordon? On the other hand, why does he need to remain as a Judge? If we're so well-off financially, neither one of us needs to be working. But that brings us back to him and his affair with that other woma_ n." She just shook her head and returned her thoughts to what she would need in her office.

Perry returned to the hotel suite where John Wilburn was finishing a phone call to his wife. After he hung up the phone, he quickly studied Perry's demeanor before saying anything.

"How was the meeting, Perry?"

As he began to loosen his bow tie, Perry sighed.

"Once again, we didn't accomplish anything. I went out on a limb and mentioned the possibility of a divorce, but she told me that she wasn't thinking of a divorce. I took that as a good sign… Anyway, she had to answer a phone call from her boss during the meeting. It turns out that she needs to leave for Boston first thing in the morning, so our meeting was cut short."

"Do you get the feeling that she's open to a reconciliation any time soon?"

Perry shook his head.

"No. But I'm taking your advice – I just need to be patient with her and perhaps some day soon, we'll meet again."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 10am Saturday, 27 April 1985**

Sitting at her desk in the living room, Della was busy clearing away the clutter in her home and organizing the invoices from the bills that she had just paid. After closing up the small antique roll top desk, she paused to admire the small bouquet of flowers in a vase on the flat top of the desk. Standing up and leaning forward, she inhaled their fragrance which was still quite refreshing.

The flowers were from Perry, of course – she received them nine days earlier in time for her sixty-third birthday. Although they hadn't seen each other in person since the fundraiser back in November, they had at least talked to each other by phone. Their conversations were cordial, but not very productive in the matter of bringing them back together to work out the long distance marriage. There was still a line drawn in the sand so to speak – Perry wanted to remain in San Francisco and Della was content to stay in Los Angeles working for Arthur Gordon.

As she began to walk away from the desk, she heard her doorbell ring. After a quick glance at the clock, she walked towards the door wondering who could be visiting. Her curiosity was satisfied when Della opened the door to greet a courier.

"Della Street?"

"Yes, I'm Della Street..."

The courier handed her a small package with one hand, and presented a receipt on a clipboard for her to sign.

"Please sign here, ma'am..."

Della balanced the clipboard on top of the small package in her hand as she signed for the delivery.

The courier tipped his hat to her and backed away from her front door.

"Have a good day, ma'am!"

After thanking the courier, Della stepped back inside of her house and looked at the package for a return address. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Cartier Jewelry logo next to her name and address. She held the package to her chest as she brought it into her living room to find a letter opener in the desk.

" _What has Perry sent now_ ," she wondered to herself as she slid the opener gently along the paper-covered seams of the box.

Inside the package, she found a small envelope along with a sliver-colored velvet pendant box. After placing the box on top of the desk, Della immediately opened the envelope and read the card inside of it.

"Happy twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Della. Love, Perry."

She clutched the card to her chest momentarily feeling a little ashamed that she had only sent Perry a greeting card to acknowledge their anniversary. Her heart was still racing when she placed the card down and finally found the courage to open the pendant box. Her eyes were wide with delight when inside she found a silver necklace with a pearl and diamond pendant.

Quickly closing the velvet box, she held the box to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. Her chin began to quiver with delight as a big smile came onto her face.

"Oh my gosh! It's just beautiful," she said to herself out loud and opened the velvet box again. "It's absolutely _beautiful_!" She sighed wishing that Perry was there to help her fasten it around her neck.

Della was suddenly startled when her phone rang. Closing the pendant box and moving quickly to answer the phone, she was thinking that it was Perry calling, but that wasn't who was on the line.

"Good morning, Della. Are you okay?" It was Paul Drake.

"Oh, I'm fine, Paul. Just fine… How are you," she smiled hearing his voice.

"I'm okay, I suppose. You sounded a little excited or out of breath. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Uh, no – not exactly. I just opened a gift box from Perry, that's all. It's our anniversary tomorrow, you know..."

"Of course I know that. And I tried to call him this morning about that – and to – you know – see if he's okay. Have you talked with him yet?"

"Not yet, but I'll probably call him later..."

"Well as soon as you talk to him, give me a call back. The report on the news this morning sounded pretty scary. I'm very concerned about him..."

The smile on Della's face disappeared and was replaced with a puzzled look.

"What news report are you talking about, Paul?"

"Haven't you heard? There was only a small blurb in the paper this morning about it, but the national news on TV had more information..."

Della became quite impatient.

"Will you please tell me what you're talking about?"

"I think Perry is one of the three Appeals Court Justices in San Francisco that received death threats from a suspect still on the loose up there! When I saw the news story, I did some checking. Perry was one of the justices on the panel that upheld the conviction of Johntay Johnson. This Johnson character is the one who ordered the hit on a Federal prosecutor and his family after he was convicted of running a drug cartel. He was in Federal prison with a life sentence for the drug charges when he had the prosecutor and his family killed. Perry was on the panel that heard Johnson's appeal about an unfair trial. Anyway, earlier this week this Johnson guy feigned some sort of illness and he was put in the hospital. Well despite the heavy security, he escaped and vowed to kill the judges on the Appeals Court. They're taking the threats seriously because one judge's home was already shot up yesterday..."

"Oh no! I haven't seen the news. Was anyone hurt? Did they say which Judge's house was shot at?"

"No! That's why I've been trying to call him since first thing this morning. I left two messages at his apartment, but he hasn't called back yet."

"I'm going to call him right now, Paul. I'll call you later when I find out what's going on!"

After disconnecting Paul's call, Della frantically punched in the phone number for Perry's apartment. His answering machine kicked in after the first ring which indicated to her that he had other messages on his machine.

"Perry! It's me, Della. Please pick up… Perry? If you're there, please pick up..."

When she paused waiting to see if he would answer her call, the machine cut off her message and the line disconnected. Della ran for her purse in the kitchen to find her small phone book with his office number. She anxiously paged through the phone book looking for his office phone number. Even though it was a Saturday, there was still a chance that he might be in his office meeting with others concerning the death threats. She was disappointed when his direct line went unanswered.

Della paused to think as she held her index finger to her lower lip.

" _Oh what is the last name of his_ _office_ _assistant? She would know what's going on_ ," she thought to herself in a panic.

When the name finally came to her, she picked up her phone and called a long distance information operator to get the office assistant's home phone number. The operator found the number and Della was connected right away. After three rings, the woman finally answered sounding very cautious.

"Hello, Liz. This is Della Street calling. I'm sorry to bother you at home..."

"Oh, hello Della," she said with relief. "That's quite alright. With all of the chaos going on, I would have been at work but the Court building has been shut down since yesterday afternoon..."

"I've only heard a little about what's going on. I'm trying to get a hold of Perry, but he's not answering his phone. Can you tell me if he's okay?"

"I'm sorry that I can't say for certain. What I _do_ know is that after the death threats and the shooting at one of the Justice's home, all of the Justices were offered protection services by the Feds. Most of the Justices not associated with the direct threats declined protection and as a precaution, the Appeals Court is closed until this maniac is caught."

"Well have you seen Perry since the threats were made? Did he accept the protection services?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know that, Della. You see, he wasn't in the office yesterday when the threats were made..."

"Oh, I see," Della paused to think. "Do you know if anyone has gone to his apartment to check on him?"

"Yes! That was done right away. According to his law clerk, the FBI went to his apartment yesterday afternoon and he was not at home… I'm sorry that I don't know more, Della..."

"That's okay, Liz. You've been very helpful. Will you please call me if you hear from him or have any updates for me?"

"Of course I will, Della. Give me your phone number and if I hear _anything_ , I'll call you right away!"

After giving Liz her phone number, Della hung up the phone and sat down in the chair by her phone to rub her forehead.

" _That was not good news_ ," she thought to herself. " _It's so unlike Perry to not call when something serious like this happens… He knows that I would be worrying about him_..."

Della picked up her phone and called Paul back to give him an update. Before their call ended Paul could only give her consoling advice.

"Don't worry, Della. He'll call soon. Try to keep your mind occupied with other things. Go out in your garden and try to relax. I'll bet you a dollar that he'll call you tonight – or tomorrow at the latest. He won't miss calling you for your anniversary..."

But Perry didn't call that night, nor did he call on their anniversary the next day. The only update she received was from Liz who called on Monday morning.

"The only thing I know, Della, is that according to the Chief Justice who was the last one to speak with Perry since the threats, Perry declined protective services. During all of the confusion and office commotion after the threats, our Chief Justice did not think to ask Perry where he was going to be or what he was going to do without protective services..."

Fed up with not getting enough information from Perry's office and not hearing any updates on the news, an overwrought Della phoned Paul again.

"Paul, I still haven't heard anything from Perry. And his office has not been any help because they don't know where he is either. I'm _really_ worried now..." Della was pacing back and forth in her kitchen talking on the phone.

"I understand, Della. I'm getting the same runaround with my contacts on the Federal level. They're mostly focusing on finding this escapee rather than putting any effort into locating Perry..." Paul sighed. "I'm thinking of heading up to San Francisco myself to find out what's really going on..."

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Paul? I mean what if something happens to you? This man that they're after is dangerous..."

"I can take care of myself, Della. I have friends and a few contacts up there. I might even be able to talk Frank Faulkner into coming along with me."

Della stopped pacing and thought about Paul's plan.

"I still don't like this idea, Paul. For one thing, can you even afford to take the time to run up there – and what about Frank's expenses?"

"Don't worry about that, Della." Trying to make light of the situation, Paul tried to show that he was responsible enough to handle the situation. "I have my new American Express credit card now – if worse comes to worst, I can just charge any expenses. Listen, Della. I'm going to give Frank a call right now. I promise I'll keep you posted about my every move. You just relax and leave this to me. Heck, Perry might even be trying to call you right now and everything will be fine..."

Paul got a hold of Faulkner right away and the two men were booked on the first flight out of Los Angeles to San Francisco before noon that day.

 **TBC**

Thank you for your patience to continue reading even though I haven't been so prompt about posting new chapters. Medical issues have again taken their toll on me. Anyway, I really appreciate your comments and reviews. To those of you fans who guessed on the episode about Perry's marriage proposal at a young age, the episode was "TCOT Married Moonlighter" from Season Two of the television series.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 5pm Monday, 29 April 1985**

Paul Drake and Frank Faulkner were able to get access to Perry's apartment with a key that Della provided. Cautiously walking into the apartment after unlocking the door, Paul called out to see that if by some miracle, Perry was there.

"Hello? Perry?" Paul paused to listen for any response and hearing nothing, he walked further into the place calling out again.

"Perry? It's me, Paul. I'm here with Frank Faulkner..."

There was no reply so they walked into the living room area and put their overnight bags down. Paul walked into the bedroom and den areas and Frank checked out the kitchen and bathroom. Satisfied that Perry was not in the apartment, they decided to make the apartment their home base in their mission to locate Perry. They had talked with John Wilburn upon their arrival in San Francisco and John reported that there was still no sign of Perry in San Francisco. He offered to assist them in any way that he could. Paul and Frank stood in the kitchen to try and figure out where to start.

"Let's get down to business, Frank. I'm going to begin by looking around for any hints about where he might be – you know like travel brochures. I also want to find a file with all of his properties that he owns. I'll start in the bedroom and the den."

Paul started in Perry's bedroom and noticed a greeting card that Perry had prominently displayed on his dresser. Picking up the card, he saw that it was a card from Della and he read what she had written inside.

" _Happy anniversary, Perry. I'm fondly remembering our Paris wedding twenty-five years ago. Love, Della_."

Feeling very odd after reading the card, Paul quickly put it back on the dresser and shook his head.

" _Two of the most_ _smart, but_ _stubborn people I know – they're so in love with each other and can't work out whatever it is that caused this separation_ ," Paul thought to himself.

Finding nothing more of interest in the bedroom, Paul went into the den where he opened a filing cabinet. Right away he found the file he was looking for and brought it out. As he started looking through the folder, Faulkner walked in and interrupted him.

"I'm going to meet John Wilburn at the Bohemian Club. He thinks that maybe one of the guys at the Club might know where Perry has gone. I can only get into the Club as John's guest for tonight only. What have you got going?"

"I'm going to start checking some of his properties in California. As I recall, he's got two hunting cabins and three fishing cabins either here in California, Colorado, or Nevada. I know that he has a caretaker for each property and if I can track down the caretakers, they might be able to tell me something."

"Sounds good, Paul. I'll call you if I find something..."

After Faulkner left, Paul sat down at Perry's desk in the den and dug through the property file. The home that he had shared with Della in Carmel had been sold the year before, so that narrowed his search down as far as local properties were concerned. Paul sorted out the file and placed the out-of-state properties in one pile, and the nearby properties in another. He shook his head when he discovered several homes that Perry owned that Paul never knew anything about.

There was a beachfront condo on the island of Oahu and a home on the island of Maui in Hawaii. He had an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City and a home that he was currently renting out in the Hamptons. Two more rental properties were located in Florida – one on Sanibel Island and the other in Key West.

Thankfully, Perry had a list of caretakers for each property in the file so he took the list to the living room to use the phone so he could begin calling them. The phone call went unanswered for the first one on the list. That was the phone number for the caretaker at Perry's fishing cabin in the Shasta Lake area north of Redding.

He had better luck with the second phone number for the caretaker at a hunting and fishing cabin on Ruth Lake near Forest Glen. He learned from that caretaker that Perry hadn't been at that place since last Fall.

When the caretaker at the third place in the Mendocino National Forest seemed reluctant to give Paul any information at all, Paul became suspicious.

"Listen to me," Paul told the caretaker. "This is very important. I have to know if Mister Mason has been in contact with you or if you know that he is at his cabin. There have been threats made against his life and we need to know where he is and that he's safe..."

"No, _you_ listen," was the caretaker's reply. "I have no idea how you got this phone number and I'll let you know now that the cabin is over forty miles away from me along dark, winding, dirt roads. I have no idea who _you_ really are. If you want to know if he's there, _you_ go check it out."

Paul sighed and slowly hung up the phone when he heard the line disconnect rather abruptly.

By nine-thirty that night Faulkner had returned to the apartment. Neither of them had any significant leads on Perry's whereabouts. Most of the men from the Bohemian Club that Faulkner spoke with gave him the names and phone numbers for Perry's close associates, but those men either didn't know where Perry was or they weren't available to talk to him.

"I don't know what else we can do tonight, Frank," Paul said with disappointment. He stood up and made his way into the kitchen. "I wonder if Perry has any beer in the 'fridge?"

Faulkner followed him into the kitchen.

"There was certainly no lack of alcoholic beverages at that Club – I had two martini's while talking with the fellas. What a place! From the looks of the outside of the joint, you'd think it would be full of snobs – but it was quite the opposite! Everyone that John introduced me to was really friendly – and very concerned about the threats against Perry. He has a lot of friends in that Club."

Paul found several bottles of beer and pulled two of them out of the refrigerator. After popping the top off of one, he handed it to Faulkner.

"Here, do you want a Heineken or would you rather have another martini?"

Faulkner accepted the beer.

"This is more my style. Thanks. So what's our next plan?"

Paul popped the top off of his beer and took a big gulp.

"Ahhh. That's good," he paused before answering.

"I better call Della and let her know what's going on."

The men walked into the living room and Paul picked up the phone to call Della.

Della answered her phone after only one ring.

"I'm glad you called, Paul. Did you find him yet?"

"I was going to ask you that. No, we haven't found him but we're narrowing down the search."

"I'm worried sick about him, Paul. That killer is still at large. I can't get any information about the search for him at all..."

"There's not much on the news about it, either. It's too late tonight so I'll call my contact on the FBI in the morning to find out the latest. In the meantime, I dug into Perry's file of hunting and fishing cabins in the area up here. So far, I've only talked to two caretakers. The caretaker at the Ruth Lake place has not seen Perry and the other one wasn't much help at all."

"Which place was that?"

"The hunting cabin in the Mendocino National Forest..."

"Oh, that's Bud! He's very protective of Perry and his privacy. What was the problem?"

"He said that he's forty miles away from the place and didn't want to drive that far just to check it for me – because he doesn't know me. He told me to go there and check it out on my own..."

"That sounds like Bud alright. What else have you and Frank done?"

"Frank went to the Bohemian Club with John Wilburn. Nobody's seen Perry there lately. I think I'll have to wait to hear back from two of the other caretakers and go from there in the morning."

"Have you tried calling the local law enforcement offices near those cabins? I think they can help you out if the caretakers either don't know who you are or you can't get a hold of them."

"You know what Della," Paul said with a hint of sarcasm. "You haven't lost your touch at all with investigating a case. I would have thought of that soon enough, but at your suggestion, I'll try that right away in the morning. Love you, Della! Talk to you tomorrow! Goodbye."

Paul hung up the phone and took another swig of his beer. He turned to Faulkner to tell him about Della's suggestion.

"Della thinks I better call the local authorities if the cabin caretakers can't help me. She's always thinking! Now why didn't _I_ think of that? Anyway, I can't do much else tonight – those cabins are hard to get to in the dark of night. Do you have a quarter?"

A bit puzzled by Paul's question about a quarter, Faulkner dug into his pants pocket for coins.

"Here's a quarter," he said as he tossed the coin to Paul.

"Call it in the air. Heads gets the bed in the bedroom. Tails gets the couch tonight."

Paul flipped the coin in the air as Faulkner grabbed it before it could land on the floor.

"Don't worry about it, Paul. I'll take the couch. I'm going to head out first thing in the morning. John Wilburn gave me the name of a guy that Perry shoots skeet with. He's a big shot that runs an investment company downtown here. He gets to the office early to monitor the stock market before it opens, so I'm going to catch him in his office."

It was late the next day before Faulkner got a lead on the possible whereabouts of Perry and he rushed back to the apartment to share the news with Paul.

"Unless you have anything new on Perry's status, I need to use the phone right away to make an airline reservation, Paul," Faulkner reported.

"I've struck out with every contact so far. I'm waiting for a call back from a Forest Ranger so if you have to make a call, make it quick. Where are we going?"

Faulkner picked up the phone and punched in the phone number for the airline.

"Not _we_ , Paul. I'm going solo on this. It's only a possibility, but it's worth checking out."

Paul put his finger on the phone cradle and disconnected Faulkner's call before it was connected.

"Hold on, Frank. We're in on this together! What have you got?"

Faulkner sighed and backed down.

"One of the men from his Club told me that he thinks Perry is up in Alaska fishing this week. He wasn't positive, but he gave me the name of the charter service Perry uses. It's some backcountry fishing lodge. There was no answer when I tried to call the place, but I was told that's not unusual because they're usually out on the water for a few days on these charters."

Paul put the phone back in Faulkner's hand.

"Make the airline reservation for both of us."

 **Kenai Peninsula, Alaska 4pm Wednesday, 1 May 1985**

Paul and Faulkner flew into Anchorage Alaska and then rented a car for the three hour drive to Seward. They easily located the charter service that Perry was supposedly using, but the charter office was unoccupied so they waited around. By five-thirty, they finally met the charter crew returning to their office.

While Faulkner looked over the group for any sign of Perry, Paul immediately displayed his private investigator credentials to the charter captain.

"Hi! I'm Paul Drake – a private investigator from Los Angeles and this is my associate Frank Faulkner. We were told that Mister Perry Mason was out on one of your fishing charters."

The charter captain looked closely at Paul's identification before replying.

"Mister Mason was only with us for two days of early halibut fishing out on the Gulf. He left here early today to move on to another place for salmon fishing."

Paul and Faulkner exchanged glances of disappointment before Paul asked for more information.

"Do you know _where_ he's gone salmon fishing?"

The charter captain was reluctant to answer.

"Why do you want to know this? Has he done something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Paul quickly tried to make the captain feel at ease. "To make a long story short, he left San Francisco last Friday after getting some threats on his life. We haven't heard from him since then. We're trying to find him to make sure he's okay..."

"Well he was okay when he left here this morning..." The captain became more suspicious of Paul's inquiry when the death threats were mentioned. "So how do I know that you're not the ones trying to kill him?"

Faulkner's quick thinking began to change the captain's doubts.

"Look captain, I got your name from Ron Greer. You can trust _him_ , can't you? Let's give him a call right now and he can back up our reasons for finding Mister Mason."

Paul chimed in right away also by opening his notebook and finding the business card for his contact at the FBI.

"Or you can call this FBI agent. He's working the case looking for the man who made the threats..."

After examining the business card and beginning to believe that Paul and Faulkner were legitimate, the captain invited them inside his office. Once inside, the captain opened a large map of the peninsula and pointed to a spot on the map – Homer Alaska.

"He's headed here for some early season salmon fishing. We heard that the salmon were running ahead of schedule so he opted to go here instead of another place further up towards Anchorage."

"I don't suppose we can give this place a call by phone to see if he's there?"

"Nope," the captain firmly replied.

Paul and Faulkner looked closely at the map and wondered how they could get there from Seward.

"What's the quickest way to get to Homer from here?"

The captain looked at his watch before making his suggestion.

"I've got a buddy that can fly you there, but it's cash only – per passenger."

Paul and Faulkner glanced at each other again before Paul looked in his wallet.

"How much per passenger and how soon can we get going?"

The captain walked over to a two-way radio on a table in the office.

"Base to Wingman! You out there, Wingman," the captain called out on the radio.

A moment later there was a scratchy reply on the radio.

"Wingman here. Whatcha need, Cap?"

"I've got two men here that need a trip to Homer – the sooner the better..."

There was a long pause before the reply came over the radio.

"I suppose I can take them… Send them over to the airstrip and I'll meet them there in an hour."

Paul nodded at the captain.

"It's a deal. How much?"

"Okay Wingman. They'll meet you there. How much are you charging for this trip?"

"Seventy bucks each – one way only though. I've got plans for later tonight..."

"I'm sending them to the airstrip. Over and out."

Paul was a little nervous when he spotted the single engine Cessna 206 aircraft at the landing strip. He turned to Faulkner to voice his fear of flying.

"Have you ever been in something as small as that plane?"

Noticing Paul's skittish behavior, Faulkner tried to reassure Paul.

"Relax, Paul. That's about the most reliable transportation in this State..."

"It only has one engine! If that shuts down, we're doomed!"

They watched as a man in a big pickup truck drove up to them and spoke to them out of the driver's door window.

"Y'all going to Homer?"

"That would be us, yes," Paul replied.

The man got out of the truck.

"Ya got seventy bucks a piece?"

Paul brought out the cash that he and Faulkner had pooled together and showed it to the man.

"Great. Let's get going. I'm in a dart tournament at the bar later on so climb aboard," he said after taking their cash and began walking towards the plane.

The flight to Homer was brief and when they landed, Wingman helped them off of the plane. Paul and Faulkner stood with their overnight bags and looked around for an airport terminal. They only saw a small shack nearby.

"Ummm, are you sure this is Homer," Paul asked the pilot.

"This isn't the _main_ Homer airport – landing there would have cost you about three hundred bucks. See the shack there? There's a landline in it and you can call the resort that your friend is staying at."

"Okay. Thanks," Paul nodded to the pilot and started walking towards the shack.

Faulkner picked up the phone inside of the shack and moments later a man answered.

"Alaska's Best charters. Can I help you?"

"You sure can," Faulkner replied. "There are two of us here at the landing strip and we need a ride."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone line.

"Uhh, did you have a reservation? We weren't expecting anyone to arrive this late."

Faulkner frowned.

"We didn't have a reservation. It's an emergency situation and we're trying to locate a person that's fishing through your charter company. It's important that we reach him right away and this was the only way we could try."

After another long pause, the man on the phone replied.

"Okay. We'll send the truck over for you. It'll be about twenty minutes."

While waiting for their ride, Paul vented his frustration.

"If I ever want to hide from the real world, I know where I'd go. This is insane! No phones, tiny single-engine airplanes that leave you in the middle of nowhere and everything is paid on a cash basis. Alaska is the most primitive place on earth!"

The driver sent to pick up Paul and Faulkner did not know the names of any other the people that were fishing through the charter company. When they reached the charter company office, they were directed to the night manager.

"Good evening. I'm Paul Drake and this is Frank Faulkner. We're here from Los Angeles looking for Mister Perry Mason."

The night manager was a little hesitant to say whether or not Perry was one of their guests.

"Why do you want to know if Perry Mason is here?"

Paul sighed after exchanging another frustrating glance with Faulkner.

"We've been looking for him since he left San Francisco. We know that he left Seward after halibut fishing and was heading here. Look, it's important that we see him right away. I'd appreciate your cooperation..."

After a moment's thought, the night manager gave in.

"He's still out on the boat..."

Paul relaxed knowing that now he was getting somewhere in his quest to locate Perry.

"When will he be returning?"

Glancing at his wristwatch, the manager replied.

"It's due in about fifteen minutes." He pointed out the side door of the office. "They'll dock the boat right over there. You can wait here or out on the dock."

Paul thanked the manager and they went outside to walk on the dock. Within twenty minutes a boat came in and tied up on the dock. Paul and Faulkner watched as two crew members got off the boat followed by Perry and two other fishermen.

Perry was talking with one of the other fishermen when he spotted Paul and Faulkner on the dock. He looked very surprised to see them and immediately walked over to them.

"Paul? Frank? What are you two doing here?"

Paul refrained from the sarcastic answer he wanted to give Perry and calmly replied.

"We've been looking for you for days since we heard about those death threats against you. Nobody knew where you were and Della is worried sick!"

As the other men getting off the boat walked around Perry, Paul, and Frank, Perry suggested that they walk back towards the lodge office to talk more. He said his goodbyes to the crew and others while putting his fishing gear bag down on shore.

"I had this trip planned long before those threats were made. I wasn't one bit intimidated by that man making the threats. I can't believe that you two came all the way up here to find me!"

"The trip wouldn't have been necessary at all if you would have just called either me or Della to let us know your plans," Paul scolded. "They're taking those threats very seriously – that guy already tried to shoot up one of the justice's homes you know! Why didn't you accept protection services from the Feds?"

"Paul, if I had to go through life worrying about some jackass who threatened to kill me for putting them behind bars, I'd have been in hiding most of my adult life," Perry retorted. "I'm not going to get all worked up by that fool and change plans that I made over a month ago..."

"Well may I suggest that we find a phone so we can call Della and at least let her know that you're safe?"

"Let's go into the lodge office," Perry sighed. "There's a pay phone in there that I can use."

"Fine, let's go. And I hope there's a bathroom inside that I can use or don't they have any indoor plumbing in this remote area?"

Perry just shook his head and pointed them in the direction of the lodge office.

"Yes there's indoor plumbing in this place. And since I'm assuming that you'll need a place to stay for the night, my bunk house has extra beds. You need to get out of the city once in a while and experience remote areas of the planet, Paul..."

Perry connected with a long distance operator and was able to charge the call to his home phone. The call was connected so quickly that he barely heard it ring before Della answered with a frantic tone to her voice.

"Hello, Della. It's me..."

"Perry! Where on earth are you? Paul and Frank Faulkner have been searching all over for you!"

"I just found out about that. They're here with me right now. I'm doing well just fishing up here in Alaska..."

"Alaska? Why didn't you let someone know that you were going fishing? I've been worried sick about you since I heard about those death threats," Della chided.

"Well, _I_ wasn't one bit concerned about those threats. You of all people should know that I've had threats made against me hundreds of times over the years and they never amounted to anything..."

"There's always a first time for everything," she countered. "And Paul wouldn't have had to run all over looking for you if you would have just called! Honestly, Perry, don't you know that we care about you – that we worry about you when these things happen?"

"I clearly know that _now_ , Della." Perry turned slightly away from Paul and Faulkner who were nearby straining to hear the conversation between Perry and Della. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't call sooner. I just didn't think anything about those threats," he said with a quieter tone.

"I thought we had an agreement that we would at least call each other if we were going to be taking a trip somewhere. I've _always_ let you know _somehow_ that I would be out of town. I've been a nervous wreck over this! I didn't know whether that nut case had kidnapped you, or – God forbid – had already harmed you in some way… The news reports were the only thing we could even try to rely on for information… If you had just called..."

Della continued to vent her worst case scenarios as Perry tried to interrupt her.

"Della! Hold on! Della, will you just listen to me? Della?" He finally raised his voice. "Della – stop talking and please just listen to me!"

Slightly taken aback by his louder voice, Della went silent.

"Please listen to me," Perry calmly began again. "I'm sorry for not calling you before I took off on my fishing trip. To be honest, the more I thought about it, the more I just figured it was the right thing to do. If you honestly didn't know where I was, the less likely you would be to have to answer to anyone confronting you about my whereabouts. Something like that could have put you in danger..."

Rolling her eyes at his feeble attempt to make light of the situation, Della shot right back at him.

"That has to be the most pathetic excuse you could ever come up with, Perry! Let's just slow down and talk about this without all the nonsense. I'm relieved that you're okay, and now I think you owe Paul and Frank Faulkner a huge apology for making them track you down..."

Sighing and looking back at Paul and Faulkner, Perry relented.

"I will take care of Paul and Frank. I'm really sorry about this, Della. It won't happen again. I'll be here until Friday afternoon and back home in San Francisco by Saturday. I promise to call when I'm home safe and sound..."

After hanging up the phone, Perry addressed Paul and Faulkner.

"I'm sorry that you had to hunt me down, gentlemen," he said sincerely as he placed his hands on their shoulders. "Now if you'd care to join me in the dining hall, we can grab something to eat while I find a way to repay you both for your inconvenience..."

When Della disconnected the call from Perry, she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes to think. A moment later, she picked up her phone to make a call to Doctor Connie McRae – something that she hadn't needed to do in a long time.

 **TBC**

Once again I appreciate your patience due to unavoidable delays between posting each chapter. I'm still recuperating medically and hope to be feeling better soon! Thanks for reading and I'm grateful that you take the time to leave comments or reviews.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 3pm Friday, 3 May 1985**

Della nervously chuckled as she got seated with a cup of coffee in her normal place in Doctor McRae's office.

"Do you realize that it's been nearly two years since we first met, Connie? On my way here I was wondering to myself just how many sessions we've actually had, and how many were late on a Friday afternoon?"

Doctor McRae shuffled through the pages of Della's file looking for an answer until Della leaned forward across the desk and put her hand over the file to stop her.

"You don't really need to come up with an answer, Connie. I was just thinking out loud again. I've been doing that a lot these past couple of days..."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get you in to see me any sooner than this afternoon, Della. You didn't sound very distraught when you phoned me the other night..."

"Oh! Don't apologize, Connie. Seeing you today is just fine, thanks. I've managed to deal with things that have been happening on my own lately – that is thanks to your advice over the past two years..."

"I'm glad that I can help. So what's the latest, Della? What made you call the other night?"

"It all started with some death threats that were made against Perry and two other appeals court justices. You see, a man that they had rejected an appeal for escaped from Federal custody. The Feds took these threats very seriously because he had killed before. Anyway, Perry declined Federal protection and just left San Francisco without letting anyone know where he was going. I frantically tried to get a hold of him. Even Paul – uh – you know – Paul Drake Junior, was concerned. He flew up to San Francisco to try and find Perry. Long story short, he and another private detective located Perry on a fishing trip in _Alaska_!"

"Oh my," Connie said with a very concerned look on her face. "I thought that you and Perry had an agreement to let each other know when you were going to be away?"

"We _did_! I reminded him of that with a mild scolding when he finally phoned me from Alaska to let me know that he was okay..."

"I think that you were right to scold him for that. I can tell that you were probably very stressed not knowing where he was with a killer on the loose out there. I recall hearing about that on the news, but I never thought that Perry was the target of the threats! Didn't they just find that killer recently?"

"Yes they did – _finally_! I was really relieved to hear that. Perry must have been notified also because he phoned me again from Alaska to reassure me."

"Well I'm glad that everything worked out well for him. That would be very scary hiding from a killer like that. I can understand if you're still bothered by him not calling you with his plans for fishing."

"I'm getting over it," Della sighed. "But that's not the only reason that I needed to see you today..."

"Oh? What else is on your mind?"

Della paused for a moment before answering.

"I really miss him, Connie... It's ridiculous that we're still separated and neither one of us is making any moves to resolve this. So how do I break a stalemate with him?"

Doctor McRae slid Della's file to the side of her desk, put down her pencil, and sat back in her chair before replying.

"Hmm. Break a stalemate, you say? That all depends on the nature of the impasse. What are the details?"

Della released her grip on the arm of her chair and brought a hand up under her chin.

"The biggest detail of this stalemate involves Perry insisting that he remain in San Francisco as a Federal appeals court justice. But I insist on staying here in Los Angeles among close friends and a job that I love..."

"I see," Connie nodded and knew exactly how to help Della through this standoff between them. "I can help you with that, but first I need to know what's most important to _you_..."

"Perry is important to me," Della stated without hesitation.

"Is he more important to you than the job that you love here in LA?"

"Of course he's more important..."

"Important enough for you to quit your job and join him in San Francisco?"

Della had to take a moment to think about that before she answered.

"I don't think that I'd be comfortable with that."

"Why not?"

Della shifted nervously in her chair.

"First of all, at my age starting a new life in San Francisco makes me a little uneasy. Here I have friends and obligations. What would I have in San Francisco except waiting for Perry to come home after a long day in Court?"

"You've almost answered your own question. You said that he's important to you and you want to be back with him even though it's hundreds of miles away from your friends and obligations here..."

Rubbing her forehead, Della paused and thought about Doctor McRae's reply.

"But I just can't do that Connie. I can't pack up and move to San Francisco just like that," she said as she snapped her fingers. "I just know that I won't be happy there..."

"Then the only way that you can break this stalemate is to _compromise_. That means that you need to extend the olive branch so to speak. Part of that also means that you have to be willing to somehow forgive him for his mistake. From that point on, it's all about give and take. If you move to San Francisco, can you ask him to quit his position as a Judge and return with you to Los Angeles if things don't work out for you there?"

Shaking her head, Della replied right away.

"I just know that he won't quit his job. And besides, we still have a lot to talk about before I can forgive him..."

"Well the only way that you can talk things out with him is to be with him in person – not over the phone. If you don't want to quit your job, can you meet him there in San Francisco, or someplace else, and begin a productive conversation?"

"I can try..."

"Great! If being back with him is important to you, extend the olive branch. Talk to him… Find out what's most important to _him_. What do _you_ think is most important to him right now?"

"Obviously his job is very important to him. He's a brilliant attorney and what attorney wouldn't aspire to be a judge?"

"So knowing that, what would you like to do now?"

"Maybe I can propose to go back to the way it was before – you know – meeting here in LA or there in San Francisco once in a while. But that will be after we have a long talk..."

"What's your plan, Della?"

Without hesitation, Della announced her plan. "I have a few ideas, Connie… Perry's birthday is coming up in less than three weeks. That gives me plenty of time to work out my end of a compromise..."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home 5pm Tuesday, 21 May 1985**

For over a week and a half Della had been trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Perry but their busy work schedules did not permit this. The weekend after her session with Doctor McRae, Della had a message from Perry stating that he was back from Alaska, but would be at a work conference in Seattle from the thirteenth to the sixteenth of May. Della anticipated her own busy week from the twentieth to the twenty-forth of May. Her latest plan was to phone him on his birthday – the twenty-first of May.

Pacing around her living room she kept glancing at the clock on her wall wondering when she should call Perry.

" _If he stays in his office until five o'clock, he'll probably be home by five-thirty_ ," she thought to herself. " _I wonder if he left work early because it's his birthday – his sixty-eighth birthday as a matter of fact… He might even be home right now_ …"

Then she lightly bit her lower lip and began to worry as another thought crossed her mind.

" _Oh my gosh! Is it a night that he'll be going to his Club? He might not even come home until later tonight_!"

By five-forty-five she sat down next to her phone in the living room and decided to make the call.

"This is ridiculous," she said to herself out loud. "If he's not home, I'll just leave him a message," she continued as she punched in his phone number on her phone.

Perry's answering machine took her call after five rings so she had to leave a message.

"Hello, Perry. It's me, Della. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and I hope that you're enjoying your day..."

Before she could add anything else to her message, Perry's voice interrupted her.

"Della! Wait! Hello! I'm here! Can you hear me, Della?"

"Yes – hello! I'm still here, Perry."

"Hold on a second. Let me turn this machine off… There! Can you still hear me?"

"Yes. I hope that I'm not calling at a bad time for you..."

"No, not at all. I was just walking in the door when I heard the answering machine kick in and heard your voice… How are you?"

Delighted that she was actually speaking with him instead of continuing with a message, Della anxiously replied.

"Oh, I'm fine. The question is – how are you? It's your birthday, you know. I thought that you might be out for dinner or maybe out at your club so that's why I was leaving you a message… So, happy birthday!"

"Thank you… I got your birthday card yesterday so I didn't forget that it's my birthday."

"Do you have big plans for the evening," she asked.

"I wouldn't say that I have _big_ plans. I bought some shrimp and scallops at the seafood market today. I thought that I'd toss them together with a little garlic sauce over linguini for my dinner tonight. That's all I'm doing… Enough about me. How are you? Are you having another busy week at work?"

"So-so… Mister Gordon has been in the office a lot lately. He's always getting involved in something whether it's work-related or charity-related. He never rests. That keeps me on my toes..."

"Well, I've said this before – he's got the best administrative assistant to make him successful..."

"Um hmm. Well, anyway, aside from wanting to wish you a happy birthday, I wanted to talk to you about meeting again – uh, you know – somewhere here or there. Whatever's convenient..."

Perry was mildly surprised by her suggestion and anxiously replied.

"Sure I'd like to see you. When? You just tell me where!"

"Well, I haven't really worked out any of the details yet. I thought that I'd just put it out there and see what we can come up with. Perhaps if we compare schedules, we can come up with something..."

Quickly grabbing his calendar book out of his suit coat pocket, Perry scrambled to look over his schedule.

"I'm looking at my schedule right now. What are you doing next weekend? It's the Memorial Day holiday weekend and I'm coordinating a memorial program for World War Two Navy personnel in San Diego. Could you come down to San Diego that weekend?"

"I was hoping to meet you when we could both be completely free – you know – like no other obligations," she sighed. "If you're in charge of the program next weekend, you might not have a lot of free time..."

"Oh, right. I see what you're saying… What does your schedule look like in June?"

"I have the weekend of the fifteenth and sixteenth open in June..."

"Damn", Perry blurted out slightly annoyed. "I'll be in Washington DC for conferences from the fourteenth through the twenty-third of June. I'm scheduled to give several lectures during that time… I'm completely free the last weekend of June though..."

"I'm afraid that weekend won't work for me… I have to be in Chicago with Mister Gordon that weekend…" After a brief sigh, she continued. "It used to be so easy for us to schedule free time for each other..."

"Ha," Perry chuckled. "Years ago, we managed to get away a lot together – but that was when _you_ were in charge of my schedule..."

"And if I was in charge of your schedule now..."

Their conversation was interrupted when Della's doorbell rang.

"Hold on a second, Perry. There's someone at my door..."

Della put her phone down on her table to find out who was at her door. She was thrilled to see Paul Drake.

"Paul! What a nice surprise! Come on in! I'm on the phone with Perry right now..."

"Sorry that I didn't call ahead. I just happened to be in the area. Go back to your call and say 'Hi' to Perry," Paul apologized as he walked into the house.

"Make yourself comfortable, Paul," Della said as she went back to her phone call with Perry. "Paul is here, Perry. He says to say 'Hi' to you..."

"Please tell him 'Hi' back and thank him for the birthday card that he sent me…"

Turning away from the telephone mouthpiece, Della addressed Paul.

"Perry wants to thank you for the birthday card that you sent him. Maybe I should just let you two talk right now..."

Paul waved her off.

"No, that's okay, Della. I'll just hang out here while you finish your call. I'm going to check your 'fridge for a beer if that's okay..."

"Go right ahead, Paul," Della replied as she returned to the call with Perry.

"I was going to put Paul on the line but he's going to get a beer right now… So where were we?"

"Well we ruled out this weekend and all of June. Listen, maybe we can think about this meeting for sometime in July. Now that we know June isn't very convenient, we can block off some time in July or even August..."

Disappointed that they couldn't set a meeting date, Della reluctantly agreed.

"I suppose it will have to be July or August then..."

"Right," Perry replied. "We'll figure something out. I hope it's soon. I really want to see you. There's a lot to talk about…"

"Yes there is – and we're long overdue for a productive conversation."

"I agree completely. I'll let you get back to Paul now. Thanks for the call, Della. I love you..."

"I love you, too, Perry. Enjoy your birthday. Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone Della happily sighed and turned back to Paul who was coming out of the kitchen.

"So what brings you here tonight Paul?"

Walking back from the kitchen with a beer in his hand, Paul stopped by Della's chair to give her a peck on the cheek before replying.

"Do I need a special occasion to come over and check on you? Oh – and where are my manners? Did you want anything from the kitchen?"

"No, I have a glass of wine here to finish. Have a seat, Paul. You never stop by just to check on me, so why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

"There's no fooling you is there Della? I just wanted to run an idea by you and when I saw your car parked out front, I figured that you might be available for a talk."

"I'm all ears, Paul..."

"Business has been slow lately so I just thought that I need something on the side for a little extra income. You probably don't remember this, but last winter I took a writing course for my job and it got me to thinking about writing a novel – you know – some sort of story related to my line of work..."

Paul studied the stoic look on Della's face for any clue of her support or a complete rejection of his idea. It appeared that he hadn't convinced her one way or the other yet so he continued.

"What I mean to say is that I won't rely solely on income of writing a novel – if it even has a chance of getting published. I guess you could say that I'd consider it a hobby to write a book, but keep working as a private detective..."

Della finally broke her silence.

"If you're hurting for money, Paul, Perry and I can certainly help you in any way that you want – whether it be a loan or even a big financial gift..."

"Oh no, Della! I'm not hurting financially or anything like that. I still have money in the trust that Dad left me – and business is going fairly well. While sitting on a surveillance assignment recently, I was just thinking about writing about the adventures I've been on. In my down time I started writing up notes from some of the things I've been involved in and I just thought that perhaps I could gather it all in one place and make a story out of it… So what do you think? Should I delve into something like this or do you think I'm just wasting my time?"

The smile that came to Della's face was reassuring when she finally replied.

"You're young and ambitious, Paul. If you have the time outside of your job or playing the sax in a band once in a while, just go for it. If you get it all together and written, _and_ if a publisher is actually interested in it, that's great. But I'll caution you, there's only a small percentage of written material that actually is published successfully, so don't give up your real job..."

"Oh, I know that. And I'm no Dashiell Hammett – yet, but it might be fun to give it a try!" Paul paused briefly to take a sip of his beer. "Anyway, I hope that I didn't cut your conversation with Perry too short. What's he up to for his birthday?"

"He's just planning a dinner at home – nothing too special. You know how he is – it's just another day to him..."

"Do you have any plans to see him anytime soon?"

"That was part of our conversation. We just can't seem to get our schedules worked out for a meet," Della sighed. "We've ruled out next weekend and all of June so maybe we'll be able to meet in July or August..."

Paul just grinned to himself. The plan that he had in mind to bring Perry and Della together might just work out after all!

"Well I hope that it works out for you… Not to change the subject, but have you had dinner yet? I'd love to take you out for a bite to eat..."

Della glanced at the clock on the wall before answering.

"I haven't even thought about dinner yet, so if you give me just a moment to get ready to go, I'd love to join you for a bite to eat!"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA** **John & Betty Wilburn's Home** **7pm Tuesday, 21 May 1985**

After cleaning up the dinner dishes in her kitchen, Betty Wilburn took off her apron and walked into the living room with John.

"Are you going to call Perry now, John," Betty inquired.

John sat down in his recliner chair and began packing tobacco into his pipe.

"Now is as good a time as any I suppose," John replied as he punched in Perry's home phone number on his phone after lighting his pipe. "After my conversation with Paul Drake and Stefan Corro – like I told you about at dinner, we've been setting something up and I just hope that it works. I also hope that he's home tonight – you never know with Perry lately," he continued as he listened to the phone ringing until Perry answered the call.

"Hello, Perry! How are you tonight – oh and happy birthday!"

"Thanks, John. I'm doing as well as can be I suppose. I just became another year older that's all."

"You _suppose_ you're doing well? Aren't you enjoying your birthday? And Betty says happy birthday also."

"Thank Betty for the greeting… I _guess_ that I am enjoying my day. I fixed a nice dinner for myself," Perry replied and then paused before continuing. "Della phoned me earlier tonight. Aside from wishing me a happy birthday, she said that she wants to arrange a meeting for us."

"That sounds like good news, Perry," John was grinning to himself. "When are you going to see her?"

"We haven't set a date or a time yet. Our schedules just can't be adjusted yet. We might not be able to meet until probably July or August… I really want to see her and talk this out with her. If I could rearrange my schedule I would, but it's just impossible right now."

"When she called you did she give you any hints about ending your separation?"

"Not really… But at least she wants to meet – and she did say that she loves me before we hung up..."

"That's progress, Perry… I hope that you both can work out a date and time to meet. If you need my help in any way, just let me know… If you'll be at the Club at all this week, let's talk some more."

"Sounds good, John. Thanks for the call – I'll see you later!"

The next morning in his office John Wilburn initiated a three-way conference phone call to Paul Drake and Stefan Corro as they had planned. When everyone was connected on the call, John asked how their plan to reunite Perry and Della was progressing.

Paul was the first to respond.

"I spoke with Della last night and planted the seed about my ambition to write a novel. Over dinner, I mentioned that I was going to go to a writer's conference and asked her if she would like to come along. Her reply was that she'd enjoy that – but only if her schedule permits..."

"Good job, Paul," John replied. "Did you mention that the writer's conference is in San Francisco?"

"Not yet. I'm waiting to hear back from a subordinate of Della's that knows Della's schedule for the most part. The week of the Fourth of July looks wide open for her because her boss, Mister Gordon, will be out of town. Once I confirm that she's available, I'll actually try to find a writer's conference!"

"I'm working on finding a conference for you too, Paul. There are several prominent writers that are members of my Club and if you don't find something, they will. Otherwise, this looks good so far, gentlemen," John grinned with excitement. "One of the Club members owns the hotel that you'll be staying at, Paul. He's arranged for a nice suite for you and Della – he just needs to know the dates." John then turned the conversation to Stefan Corro. "So, Padre… What do you know about Perry's plans for the Fourth of July?"

"When I spoke with him to wish him a happy birthday yesterday, among other things, I rambled on about upcoming holidays to get a sense about his status for the Fourth. So far, so good – he said that he's not going to be doing much since the holiday is on a Thursday this year. At least he has no plans to be away fishing!"

"Okay, gentlemen," John began to wrap up the call. "Let's plan our next conference call for this Friday – say about ten o'clock?"

"Sounds good to me," Paul replied. "I'll get Della on board as soon as I hear from her office. I'll persuade her to come along – I don't think it will be too difficult when I tell her we're going to San Francisco. I really think she misses Perry and wants to talk to him face-to-face."

"In the meantime, I'll add my prayers to make sure that this scheme works this time. We haven't been too successful so far," Stefan Corro added.

"I have a good feeling about this," John said. "Talk to you both on Friday!"

By Friday morning Paul's plan to bring Della and Perry together was ready to go.

 **TBC**

My medical condition has improved after a final radiation treatment and I appreciate your well wishes. Now I have more time for editing the rest of this story, so hopefully the next chapter will be posted soon. Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 **San Francisco, CA 2pm Wednesday, 3 July 1985**

Della was quite impressed by the limousine that brought her and Paul Drake from the airport to the Fairmont Hotel located in the Nob Hill neighborhood.

"This must be _some_ writer's conference, Paul! How did you manage to get the VIP treatment when you've never written anything that's been published?"

"I just thought that if I'm really going to take up writing seriously, I'd have to find the _best_ writer's conference," Paul sheepishly explained.

Paul hadn't expected this first-rate service either, but thankfully John Wilburn's friends at the Bohemian Club made all of the arrangements. Once John explained to his friends what he was discreetly trying to accomplish in assisting Paul Drake for the benefit of Perry, all of the details were worked out including an elite writer's seminar for Paul to attend.

Exiting the limousine at the hotel, Paul and Della walked into the lobby while sharply-dressed uniformed bellhops assisted them with their luggage.

"What time will we be meeting Perry for dinner," Della asked as they walked to the check-in desk. "I'll need to freshen up before we meet him."

"You look fine, Della. Perry said that he made reservations at Alfred's Steakhouse for dinner at seven o'clock so you'll have a lot of time to get ready. He arranged our transportation to the restaurant so I think we need to be here in the lobby by six-thirty."

Looking around the lobby of the hotel, Della added, "Perhaps I should do a little shopping if we have that much time until dinner..."

Paul just rolled his eyes as she smiled at him with a wink of her eye.

Perry was waiting at the restaurant as Paul and Della arrived just before seven o'clock that evening. His heart rate increased slightly when he saw her wearing a very stylish black cocktail dress. This was the first time that he'd seen her since the past November when he was in Los Angeles for the fundraiser. Since the day that he heard she would be coming to San Francisco with Paul, he'd been anxiously waiting to see her again.

" _That woman has always dressed impeccably. She'll turn every man's head in the place,_ " Perry said silently to himself. " _I should have worn her favorite tie tonight_."

He was able to give Della a soft kiss on her cheek after firmly embracing her in his welcoming arms.

"You look beautiful as ever and you're right on time. I hope that your transportation was adequate. It's nice to see you both..."

"Everything has been just wonderful so far. I'm glad that I came along with Paul," Della said while smiling and looking up into Perry's twinkling blue eyes.

Perry smiled back at her and then turned his attention to Paul.

"I was completely surprised that you wanted to take up writing, Paul – but if that's what it takes to bring Della along with you to San Francisco, I'm all for it!"

Nodding to the restaurant maitre d', Perry gestured for them to walk into the dining area where they were seated in a secluded booth. Once Della was seated, Perry quickly slid into the booth on the seat next to her so that Paul would have to sit across the table from them.

"I hope you like this place. I haven't been here in a while, but the New York Strip steak was top-notch as I recall," Perry explained. Della's familiar, pleasing scent made him swoon with delight.

While looking over their menus and deciding on an appetizer, Paul explained what he wanted to accomplish in his attempt to write a novel. Both Perry and Della gave him words of encouragement, but cautioned that his writing shouldn't interfere with his primary source of income as a private detective.

After ordering a shrimp cocktail appetizer for Della, Paul decided to make another unexpected announcement when the conversation about the writer's conference was finished. It was all part of his plan to reunite Perry and Della.

"Aside from letting you both know about my writing ambitions, I'm glad that we're all together so I can let you both know something else..."

Perry and Della quickly glanced at each other puzzled about what else Paul was going to drop on them. Della was hoping that he had found a steady girlfriend. Perry was hoping that he would want to go back to college for law school. It was neither.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to move out of your condo in Sherman Oaks," Paul calmly told them. "I'm grateful for you letting me stay there for the past two years, but I really need to move closer to my office. Traffic in LA is miserable and getting worse. There's been nights that I've sacked out overnight in my office just to avoid the long drive back to Sherman Oaks when I need to be back in the office early the next day..."

Perry and Della exchanged glances again before Perry spoke.

"If it's about the costs associated with living in the condo, I can take care of that, Paul..."

"It's not about that at all, Perry. It's a few other things also..."

"Such as," Della curiously asked.

"Lately, I've rarely been home," Paul sighed before continuing. "And when I _am_ home and find time to relax, there's been someone at the door looking for either of you two. There was a salesman there for you the other day, Della. And a couple of weeks ago there was the guy that I called you about, Perry – the one that wanted legal advice from you..."

Perry nodded while recalling the incident.

"If you really want to move Paul, I have no issues with that." Glancing at Della, Perry continued. "I can just keep the place to use whenever I come back to LA – which I will try to do more often I suppose..."

Encouraged by Perry's plans to return to LA more often, Paul thought to himself that his plan might just work after all.

"Well, I'll let you know when I'll be planning to move. I've had my eye on an apartment building in Santa Monica and they anticipate a vacancy soon..."

Reaching across the table for Paul's hand, Della added her thoughts on the matter.

"For a moment there Paul, I thought that you just wanted out of the condo to have more privacy with a new girl," she grinned.

"Oh Della," Paul winked at her. "I can't fool you!"

Rolling his eyes at Paul and Della, Perry changed the subject.

"Do you two also know what you each want to have for dinner?"

After enjoying their dinner they made plans for the next day before leaving the restaurant. San Francisco was known to be a nice place for the Independence Day holiday with street festivals all over and a fireworks show at dusk. Paul would conveniently be attending his writer's conference during the day which would leave Perry and Della alone for most of the day to have their talk.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Fairmont Hotel Noon Thursday, 4 July 1985**

Dressed in a casual sport coat and open-collared button-down shirt, Perry left his new 1985 Mercedes sedan with the hotel valet and walked into the lobby for his lunch meeting with Della. He found Della standing near the concierge desk looking over sightseeing brochures. He took in a deep breath while admiring her bright, multi-colored, sleeveless sundress.

"Hello, Della," he greeted her with a light kiss on her cheek. "Are you planning to take in the sights?"

"You're funny," she grinned at him. "I think I've seen all that there is to see in this town..."

"Yes, you probably _have_ seen it all over the years. Shall we go eat?"

"Absolutely! I'm famished! The concierge made us a reservation at the rooftop restaurant," she replied as they made their way towards the elevator.

Once they were seated in the restaurant and had ordered iced tea to drink, Della opened her purse to bring out a small gift box. She placed the box in front of Perry and nudged it towards him with the fingertips of her hand.

"What's this," Perry asked with a surprised look on his face.

Grinning and fluttering her eyelashes at him, she just told him to open it to find out.

As Perry began unwrapping the small box Della explained what it was for.

"This is a combination of a belated anniversary _and_ birthday gift for you… I didn't want to risk mailing it to you."

Perry opened the box and found a silver pocket watch on a long silver chain. After taking it in his hand, he flipped open the cover as Della leaned across the table to comment on the gift.

"I had it custom-made," she stated with a big smile.

Perry smiled back when he saw the symbol of a Judge's gavel on the clock face. Putting the pocket watch aside, he reached across the table for her hand to bring her hand to his lips for a soft kiss.

"Thank you, Della. It's wonderful – very creative to add the gavel… I'll cherish it forever," he said sincerely.

"I'm glad that you like it," Della looked into his eyes with a smile on her face.

" _This is going to be a great weekend_ ," Perry thought to himself.

They both ate a light lunch knowing that Perry would be making a nice dinner in his apartment later that evening. The plan was to watch the holiday fireworks display from the rooftop of Perry's building later that night. They spent the rest of the day enjoying the holiday gala on the streets and then gathering the ingredients for dinner by stopping at various shops near his apartment. By six o'clock, they had arrived at Perry's apartment building. Perry parked his car in the parking ramp and they unloaded their groceries to go up to the apartment.

Once inside the apartment, Perry shed his sport coat by hanging it on a coat rack near the door. While he put away their dinner ingredients, Della asked to use his phone to call her office.

"I'm hoping that there's nothing going on today. It may be a holiday here in America, but our company has so many international connections that you just never know when someone will need something," Della explained as she called her office.

Perry fixed them Manhattans to drink while Della made her phone call. After the call, she joined him in his kitchen as he garnished the drinks.

Handing her a drink, Perry asked if everything was okay with her job.

"It's fine. I just feel better when I check in – especially when Mister Gordon is out of town," Della replied. She took a sip of her drink and then felt a little nervous because she thought the time had finally come for a serious talk with him.

"Perry, maybe this is as good a time as any to have a talk… There is nobody around to interrupt us if we come to a critical moment..."

"I couldn't agree more," Perry anxiously replied as he picked up his drink and gestured for her to move into the living room.

Della got seated on the couch and Perry sat in his easy chair next to the couch.

"Let me start by apologizing again for making the biggest mistake of my life," Perry cautiously began. "The stupid _affair_ that I had with that woman really meant nothing to me – it was all a blur and I don't have a good excuse for it. It was a couple of days that I've regretted all along. I'll do anything for you if you'll just find a way to forgive me..."

Della slowly sipped her drink and with a raised brow she replied.

"She was probably just like all of the other women who led you on. You can spare me all of the details, Perry. I've been trying to erase from my mind the memory of that day in Carmel. The biggest issue I have with you is whether or not I can ever trust you again..."

"I'll let you know right here and now that something like that will _never_ happen again," he sincerely replied. "I know that I'll have to earn back your trust."

"I want to try and work things out with you, Perry. I'd like to find a way to rebuild that trust we have for each other. But right now I'm having a hard time deciding if and how to forgive you..."

"Like I said, Della, I'll do anything to work this out with you," Perry said with a hopeful look on his face.

"Then why don't we start by making the time to see each other again – you know – the way it was before," she proposed. "How can you expect me to regain your trust when we're four hundred miles apart?"

"Right now you'll just have to take my word that you can trust me. I think we can arrange to see more of each other. Like I mentioned at dinner last night, I can try to go back to LA more often. I'd like to see you as much as possible – especially if it will ease your mind..."

Della paused before continuing.

"What's important to you, Perry?"

Perry reached for Della's hand right away.

"You're important to me. Your happiness is important to me," he said while gently squeezing her hand.

"What about your job? Is that also important to you?"

Perry released the grip on her hand and looked down. Before answering he took a sip of his drink.

"Yes my job is important to me. I'm at the top of my career right now..."

Slightly disappointed at his response, Della sipped her drink before saying anything more.

"I see. Being a judge is an appointment that you've deserved for being such a brilliant legal mind… Would you ever consider leaving the bench and taking up the Bar Association lecture circuit again?"

Perry couldn't face her knowing that the answer he was going to give would probably upset her. His hands tightly grasped the arms of his chair before replying.

"My position as a judge opens so many opportunities for me – it keeps me in the game so-to-speak and gives me credibility when I do give lectures. I wouldn't mind staying on the bench until they force me to retire when I become senile or something. I hope that my answer doesn't let you down, Della..."

"It doesn't change what I'm thinking one way or another, Perry. I just wanted to hear what's important to you in life," she said as she reached over to pat his arm resting on his chair. "If you're happy and content with your status here in San Francisco, I can try to support you with that. Lord only knows that I'm not going to be able to change that."

Perry placed his free hand over her hand on his arm.

"What about you, Della? Are you happy and content back in LA? Do you plan to work for Arthur Gordon for the rest of your life?"

Chuckling, Della shook her head.

"I wouldn't go that far, Perry. I have a feeling that when Mister Gordon actually discovers that in all actuality I'm old and senile, he'll start looking for my replacement right away!"

"Well I have a feeling that Mister Gordon is going to have you at his side for many good years to come. You're still sharp as ever as far as I'm concerned," he stated before pausing. "Why don't we continue this conversation in the kitchen so I can feed you dinner before we watch fireworks tonight?"

As they made their way into the kitchen, Perry's phone rang. It was Paul calling.

"Hello, Paul. We're just about to start making dinner. What time will you be joining us this evening?"

"That's why I'm calling, Perry. I think I'll pass on dinner tonight. I'm hanging out with some folks that organized the writing seminar – and later we'll be watching the fireworks from someone's back yard. Is that okay with you and Della?"

Perry turned to Della to let her in on the conversation.

"Paul says that he has other dinner plans and is going to watch the fireworks somewhere else..."

"Ask him how the writer's conference has been..."

Perry began to hand her the phone so she could speak to him herself but she waved him off.

"Della wants to know how the conference is going..."

"It's interesting so far. This morning began with a panel discussion on dealing with reluctant publishers. After lunch there were several short breakout sessions to choose from. I went to one that focused on beginning writers and then ended the afternoon with one that covered fiction versus non-fiction and autobiographies. It's all interesting… Look, I have to run right now. I just wanted to tell you my plans..."

"Right. I'll be sure to relay the highlights of your day to Della." He then turned to Della. "Paul needs to go right now. Anything else that you two want to discuss through me?"

Della just smiled and nodded before saying, "Tell him to be careful and that I'll see him back at the hotel later then..."

Perry relayed the message from Della and they ended the call.

What Perry and Della didn't know right then was that Paul was actually with John and Betty Wilburn at their home for the evening. Winking, Paul gave the Wilburn's the update after he hung up the phone.

"I hope that wasn't too misleading for them to understand."

"There wasn't one dishonest word in your story, Paul," John Wilburn replied. "You _are_ hanging out with folks that organized the writer's seminar and we're all going to watch fireworks in my back yard tonight!"

Standing next to Perry in the kitchen, Della put her two-cents in after Perry hung up the phone.

"How much do you want to bet that he met some gal at that conference today and he's really out with her?"

"Like father, like son," was Perry's reply before changing the subject and opening the refrigerator to bring out salad ingredients. "Here – I'll let you tear up the romaine lettuce for the salad while I whip up the Caesar salad dressing."

Della playfully thrust her hip into Perry's after accepting the stalk of romaine.

"Are you sure that you can trust me with the salad preparation?"

"As long as I'm making the salad _dressing_ , we'll be fine," Perry said grinning.

"That's one of the things that I miss about you, Perry," Della said smiling. "I miss your homemade meals and your honesty about the taste of _my_ meals."

Perry smiled as he began mixing the ingredients for the salad dressing.

"I rarely criticize your cooking," Perry winked at her. "I'm sure that if you had the time, your cooking would be just fine with me! Perhaps I'll come to LA just for you to make dinner for me..."

"Fine with me. I'll just call a catering company to prepare a nice dinner and then take credit for it when they deliver it..."

"Ha," Perry smiled and nodded as he stirred the salad dressing ingredients.

While tearing up the romaine lettuce, Della changed the subject back to Paul Drake.

"So, now why do I get the feeling that you and Paul set me up for this trip to San Francisco?"

"I wish I _could_ take credit for that, but I had no idea that Paul was coming here. I _will_ say, however, that I'm very pleased you came along with him," he added as he finished the salad dressing and moved on to the stove to prepare the main course.

"Perhaps Paul just set us both up," Della sighed as she finished her assignment with the lettuce. "What's next, Chef Mason?"

"Why don't you just sit here in the kitchen and finish your drink? Or, on second thought, if you really want something to do, why don't you open the wine that we're having with our Bolognese Pappardelle?"

When they sat down to eat their dinner, their conversation continued. Della tried to leave hints about what they needed to resolve before ending their separation. She glanced across the dining table at Perry who was watching her take her last bite of the dinner. His elbows were on the table and his hands were clasped together under his chin. The adoring look in his eyes gave her more comfort to talk out her feelings.

"There are so many things that I miss about not seeing you all of the time, Perry. I miss our daily conversations about how our days went… I miss hearing you talk about what you're doing in your free time… We've had some interesting conversations – especially when we were working together. We've drifted apart more every day since you left for the bench. Do you think that we'll ever work out a compromise and become close again?"

"I want to work something out, Della. I miss those days, too. I've been hoping that we can find a way to bring that back into our lives."

"Well at least we agree on something… Let's clean up the kitchen. It's getting dark and we don't want to miss the fireworks," Della concluded.

After cleaning up the dinner dishes, they brought the rest of their dinner wine up to the rooftop for the fireworks. Perry pulled two deck chairs together away from the other building tenants that were also gathered on the rooftop for the show. It was about twenty minutes before the fireworks began and to get a better view, they stood up and moved to the railing on the edge of the roof.

"This railing is sturdy enough to lean on if you want to be more comfortable," Perry commented. "I've been up here a lot in the cool night air when I want to clear my head," he further explained as he stood closely behind Della who was leaning on the railing.

While the fireworks exploded in the night sky above them, Perry found the opportunity to rest his hands on Della's shoulders. She jumped slightly after feeling the touch of his hands on her shoulders, but she didn't brush him off. Perry felt her flinch but didn't know if she was reacting to the loud fireworks or his touch. When she rolled her shoulders slightly forward, he took that to mean that she was enjoying his touch and he gently massaged her shoulders as she marveled at the fireworks display.

The fireworks show lasted thirty minutes and as the final barrage of the pyrotechnics faded from the dark sky, a shiver ran up Della's spine. She didn't know if it was from Perry's touch or from the sudden chill of the cool night air.

"I'm feeling a little chilly," she stated as she turned to face him with a look of uncertainty on her face.

"We should have thought to bring along a sweater. Why don't we head back to the apartment and have a brandy to warm you up," he suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," she nervously replied. Perry's radiating charm and gentle touch was making her feel weak.

" _I wonder how long I'll be able to resist him if he gets close to me again_ ," she thought to herself. " _I'm not sure if I'm ready for that_ _or not_ _. We still have a lot of unresolved issues to discuss_..."

Upon entering the apartment, Perry offered to get her a sweater.

"You still have some clothing here in the bedroom closet. Let me get you a sweater..."

"Uh, no," Della held him off. "I'll go find a sweater. I need to freshen up a little, too. Why don't you pour us some brandy and I'll be right back?"

Della took her purse with her and went into the bathroom. She splashed some cool water on her face and wondered to herself if Perry was overtly flirting with her or if she was reading his signals all wrong.

Looking at her face in the bathroom mirror, she dabbed at her face with a towel and then touched up her makeup.

" _You need to slow down and think about this, Della_ ," she thought to herself. " _Keep the conversation going with him – we still have the weekend ahead of us_..." She got a sweater out of his closet and returned to the living room area.

Perry had poured brandy into two glasses, and they sat down in the living room – Della on the couch and Perry in a chair next to her.

"Are you warm enough now," Perry asked.

After taking a big sip of the brandy, Della was feeling comfortable but cautious.

"Yes, thank you. This is good. It's always been a perfect nightcap beverage..."

"Some things never change," Perry added with a smile.

"Uh – no they don't," Della carefully replied.

" _She's just got to know that I've been trying to get her to relax – to make her comfortable with me_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _I'll know how she really feels if her answer to what I'm about to ask her gets a positive reply_."

When she placed her glass of brandy on the table in front of her, he got that opportunity and reached over for her hand.

"Do you have to go back to the hotel tonight," he bravely asked.

" _Oh boy! Here we go_ ," Della nervously thought to herself.

Before she could answer him, they were both startled when the phone rang.

"It might be Paul," Della said with a momentary sigh of relief and concerned tone in her voice.

Perry was reluctant to answer the phone but when he saw the anxious look on Della's face, he reached for the phone.

"If it _is_ Paul, he has the same bad timing as his father always did," Perry said as he picked up the phone.

Della listened to Perry's side of the conversation.

"Hello? Yes it is… Yes she is… Just a moment please..."

Perry tried to hold back the disappointed look on his face as he handed the phone to Della.

"It's your assistant from your office calling," he said calmly.

Seeing the annoyed look on Perry's face, Della frowned as she took the phone from his hand.

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

 **San Francisco, CA Perry's Apartment 10am Friday, 5 July 1985**

In his kitchen, Perry poured himself another cup of coffee after putting his breakfast dishes in the kitchen sink.

" _So much for a plan to make breakfast in bed for Della_ ," he sadly thought to himself.

While walking into the living room with the morning paper, Perry was just about to sit down in his chair when the phone rang. He anxiously answered on the second ring hoping that it was Della on the line.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Perry! I'm glad that I caught you at home!"

It was a cheerful John Wilburn on the line.

"Hi, John. What's up? How was your Fourth of July holiday?" Perry wanted to add that _his_ holiday ended on a rather sour note, but he refrained.

"It was pretty good, actually. Now the reason that I'm calling is Betty and I thought that since Della and Paul are in town that we'd love to have you all over for dinner tonight. Do you have any big plans?"

Perry was still sore about how the night before ended, but he politely replied to John.

"I don't have any plans, but I can't speak for Della or Paul. I think Paul mentioned that he's going to attend the writer's seminar for half of today and I don't know what he was going to do after that. And as far as Della's plans, she's not here to ask."

"Oh… I see," John replied with a bit of confusion. "Well can you get a hold of her at her hotel and see if she wants to have dinner?"

"I guess I didn't make myself very clear, John. Della isn't _here_ because she left San Francisco late last night to return to LA for her _job_ ," Perry added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Huh? I thought that she and Paul were going to be in town until Sunday?"

"That _was_ the plan, but after the fireworks last night, Della's office phoned her here at my place. Apparently Mister Gordon needed her to retrieve some documents from his safe in his office and bring it to him in Dallas right away..."

"That's odd. Couldn't she have just had one of her subordinates do that for her?"

"That's what I asked her, but apparently she is the only one that's allowed access to the office safe aside from Mister Gordon. She was the only one that he trusts enough to get the documents he needs and hand carry them to Dallas for some important project..."

"I can tell by the tone of your voice that you're not very happy about this, Perry..."

Sighing, Perry agreed.

"There were so many things that went through my mind after she left here last night. Like for one thing, maybe I made her nervous or something just being alone with her. She seemed sort of uneasy when we were watching the fireworks. I stood close to her while merely touching her shoulders and I think that made her a little jumpy. That alone could have made her want to get out of town when the opportunity came about with Mister Gordon's request… I just don't know anymore, John. I think she values her job more than me now."

"Did you have an opportunity to talk things over with her? You were with her for a day and a half..."

"Yes we talked. I apologized over and over. I _thought_ that the discussions were productive. We both appeared to want the same things. She's just got to know that I'll do anything she wants to work this out with her..."

"I don't know what to say, Perry. I hate to keep telling you that she just needs more time to work this out… From the way you've described your conversations, you're closer, but still far away. Did she give you any idea about when you'll meet again?"

"No. She basically gathered her purse, gave me a peck on the cheek and left in a waiting taxi. I think I remember her saying that she'd be in touch. I just gave up again, John. Like I said before, she values her job more than being with me..."

"I don't think that's her style, Perry. After all, she _did_ come all the way up here to see you. I have a feeling that she'll call soon and you two will work out another meeting soon… In the meantime, why don't you and Paul come over tonight? Betty wants to try out a new pork roast recipe… And we can always find a moment to talk privately if you're up for that..."

Perry rubbed his forehead and thought about John's invitation before he reluctantly agreed.

"Okay. Paul said that he'd be calling me later this afternoon. I'll let him know about dinner and call you back when I hear from him..."

"Sounds good, Perry. Hang in there – we'll talk more later..."

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Union Train Depot, Dallas, TX 10am Sunday, 7 July 1985**

While a voice over the train depot loudspeaker flatly announced train departures, arrivals and track information, Della made her way to a phone booth. Closing the door and getting seated in the phone booth, Della got a long distance operator on the line. Giving her code number to the operator to charge the call to her home phone number, she patiently waited for her call to be connected to Perry's home phone.

Perry was seated in his easy chair in his living room reading the Sunday paper when his phone rang. He quickly fumbled to open his pocket watch to see the time and then reached for the phone answering it on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Perry. How are you?"

Perry sat forward in his chair and tossed the newspaper aside, excited to hear Della's voice.

"I'm fine. How are you – or should I ask how was your trip to Dallas?"

"It's fine. Did you get my message that I left you yesterday?"

"I did. When will you be back in LA?"

"Well that's one of the reasons I'm calling. First of all I wanted to thank you again for your hospitality. I should also apologize again for having to leave so unexpectedly."

"Mister Gordon must have a pretty big project for you there in Dallas," Perry said while sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"Oh – I finished my task with Mister Gordon yesterday afternoon. I just needed to wait until this morning to get out of town...I probably won't be back in LA until late on Tuesday..."

Perry took a moment to think about what she was saying before replying.

"If you're leaving Dallas today, why won't you be home until Tuesday?"

"That's the other reason I'm calling. I'm taking the train home to LA..."

"The _train_?"

"Yes, the train – the Amtrak Eagle to be more exact..."

"I thought that you wanted to get back to LA right away..."

"I did, but when I flew into Dallas Friday afternoon, we experienced a rather rough landing when the plane blew a tire. That scared the dickens out of me!"

"Are you okay," Perry asked very concerned. "You didn't mention anything about _that_ in your phone message..."

"I didn't want you to get all worked up about it. I've thought about it enough for both of us since then, so yesterday I looked into taking the train back to LA. There isn't a daily train to LA so I had to wait until today to leave town… It will be a nice break for me," she added.

Perry's silence on the other end of the line was concerning to Della.

"Are you still there, Perry?"

"I'm here," he replied with a tone that sounded uncaring.

"Oh – good," she said cheerfully. "I thought that we'd been disconnected... You're awfully quiet. Did I call at a bad time?"

"No," he said with a rather subdued attitude.

"You just sound so distant – or angry with me. If this is about me leaving Thursday, I want you to know how badly I felt. It was very important that I took care of that errand for Mister Gordon. He knows that I was terribly inconvenienced..."

Now Perry decided to let her know just exactly how _he_ felt.

"If he knew that you were four hundred miles away from your office, why did he even ask you to bring him those _important_ documents? That doesn't make any sense to me..."

"I know it doesn't, Perry," she agreed. "But he relies on me to get things done – just as you relied on me all those years..."

"Well the choice was yours and we both know what was more important to you..."

"That's not fair," she retorted. After a pause she continued. "Why don't we just call a truce and put this to rest? Our weekend was ruined because I chose to do something that my boss needed. Can we move by this and try to find another weekend to meet… Please?"

Perry sighed and softened his tone.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Paul's birthday is coming up in September, you know. Perhaps we can plan something in LA – or wherever – around his birthday," she suggested.

"That's a long ways off," Perry stated. "Are you saying that you don't have any free time at all until then?"

"I'm not sure of my schedule right now. With this new project that Mister Gordon has planned, I can't pinpoint a date right now. I just threw out the only time that I knew I would make it a priority to be available..."

Perry paused before replying.

"Alright. We'll try to meet again around Paul's birthday. But if we come up with something else sooner, I'd like that. I thought we were on the brink of working something out this weekend, but right now I feel like we're miles apart again..."

"I know," she agreed. "And this was mostly my fault so I apologize. I _will_ make this up to you – to us. In the meantime, I hope we can at least stay in touch with each other – at least a phone call or two each week?"

"I think we can do that..."

"Fine..." Della glanced at her wristwatch. "I'd better go, Perry. My train leaves in less than an hour and I need to make my way towards the departure area..."

"Okay. Have a safe trip. Will you please call me when you get home?"

"I will… I love you..."

"I love you, too Della. Goodbye."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae** **2pm Monday, 26** **August 1985**

When Doctor McRae saw the distressed look on Della's face as she entered the office for another session, she knew that Della had a lot to talk about.

"Have a seat, Della. Let me get you something to drink. What would you like?"

"After the weekend I've had, some red wine would suit me just fine, but I better stick with coffee if you have it..."

Doctor McRae poured Della a cup of coffee and brought it to her before getting seated at her desk.

"You look troubled, Della. What's happened to make you look that way?"

Della rubbed her forehead with her left hand before saying anything. Doctor McRae then noticed what appeared to be an oval-shaped, shiny black stone on the ring that Della was wearing on her ring finger. She made a mental note to find out more about that ring later as Della began explaining her troubles.

"I don't know where to start, Connie. Obviously I'm still concerned about my problems with Perry..."

"You just said ' _problems_ ' as in plural, meaning there's more than one. Do you want to give me a little background on the issues?"

Della took a sip of her coffee before answering.

"Ever since the Fourth of July holiday when I suddenly had to leave San Francisco to take care of a major task for my boss, Perry and I have tried to find time to meet again. Things were going so well that time in July – I think we were talking about how to resolve our separation more than any other time before. In hindsight, I probably should not have left San Francisco so abruptly, but I did. I can't change that. But since that time, I've been trying to make it up to him."

"How so?"

"For example, today I should be in San Francisco with him. I had everything planned as a surprise visit, then last Friday night he informed me that he was flying to Washington DC to testify before a congressional hearing involving funding for the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court. Obviously I cancelled my plans and let him know what my plans were. I only made plans for this because we were originally going to be together for Junior's birthday next week, but we had to cancel that, too. We're back to squabbling about our jobs again – like whose job is more important..."

"I see… It sounds like you've both tried to compromise or you wouldn't have met in July..."

"Right! And in July Perry said that he'd try to make time to visit LA – Junior told us that he'd be moving out of our Sherman Oaks condo so Perry said he'd use the condo on his visits. But that didn't work out – instead, he decided to rent it out temporarily to an old Navy buddy of his and his wife. They moved in earlier this month and have asked to stay until next spring some time..."

"Did you have any say in his decision to rent the condo?"

"Yes – but I just let _him_ make the decision since I've completely moved out… I think he was eager to rent the condo because he doesn't want to return to LA – even for quick visits..."

"Did he actually say that to you?"

"No – I just got the feeling that he's avoiding visits here..."

"Why do you say that?"

Della shifted nervously in her chair before answering.

"I'm not really sure why I feel that way, but it might be because of the weird dreams I've had lately..."

"Tell me about the dreams..."

"Well I don't have them every night, but they started a couple of weeks after I left San Francisco in July… One night I had a dream that I was being blown away in a strong wind. Perry had his back to the wind and he reached a hand out for me to grab on to. When the wind swept me further away, he withdrew his hand..."

"Strange," Doctor McRae replied. "Are the other dreams the same scenario?"

"Sort of. In one dream I was in San Francisco walking with Perry when a large crowd of people rushed out onto the sidewalk causing us to separate. I was basically being trampled on and carried away with the crowd. Again, Perry reached out to me but he couldn't grab me. And just the other night I dreamed that Perry and I were walking on a beach when suddenly high waves hit the beach. I was being swept away in the undertow. This time, instead of reaching out to help me, Perry just stood back and folded his arms across his chest watching me being pulled out with the waves..."

"I see," Doctor McRae said while leaning forward in her desk chair. "All of those dreams – or nightmares – obviously have the same theme."

"I know! So what do they mean?"

Leaning back in her chair, Doctor began to explain.

"Dreams often relate to certain feelings in our minds – or recent events. I think you're being overwhelmed by your emotions. In my opinion, I think these dreams mean that you want to reach out to Perry but something always whisks you away."

"But what about his gestures and postures in these dreams?"

"From what you've described, you feel that you're being ignored by him – or that you're not important to him. When someone feels ignored in a dream it's likely a reflection of relationship differences that are not being addressed."

"I see… Well we _were_ resolving our differences until I decided to leave San Francisco. Obviously that was a big mistake on my part. I just wasn't thinking very clearly at the time. I went into my normal mode of getting the task done at any cost."

"I think that subconsciously you've regretted that decision to leave and you're sensing that Perry didn't like that decision either."

Doctor McRae's thoughts on the matter began to sink in with Della and she quietly pondered what she would do with the information.

"I still have to fix this," she concluded. "How do I do that?"

"You simply keep trying. I'm familiar enough with your mindset to know that if there's a way to meet with Perry in the near future, you'll arrange that. And things will start getting better for you both."

"I hope you're right..."

Sensing that the session was winding down, Doctor McRae wanted to know about the ring Della was wearing.

"So, I'm curious about one thing, Della. I see that you're wearing a beautiful ring on your left ring finger..."

Della smiled and leaned forward in her chair to bring her hand closer to Doctor McRae so she could take a closer look at it.

"Perry bought me this for my birthday several years ago. It's a black star sapphire stone… I think he intended for it to be worn as a wedding ring since we really never wore rings on that finger. I've worn it on that finger for many years, but took it off and stored it away about six years ago..."

Doctor McRae gently held Della's hand to examine the ring.

"It's very nice! I haven't seen you wear that before so I was just wondering..."

"Well I brought it out from my jewelry box when I made the plans to surprise Perry with the trip back to San Francisco, but I just decided to keep wearing it even though those plans fell through last Friday..."

"Keep wearing it, Della," Doctor McRae said while winking at Della. "I have a feeling that you'll find a way to see Perry soon..."

Little did Della know at _that_ time that she _would_ be seeing Perry – but not under the circumstances that she was hoping for.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Arthur Gordon Industries 7:30pm Friday, 27 September 1985**

Arthur Gordon stood up from his desk chair and closed his briefcase to walk out of his darkened office – finally going to go home for the weekend. After walking out of his office, he noticed the light on in Della's nearby office and saw her at her desk sorting paperwork.

"Della, what are you still doing here," he sternly asked.

"I was waiting for these quotes and they just came in over the telex from Brussels," she quickly replied.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're too efficient," he asked halfheartedly.

"Certainly not _you_ ," she sassed back half tilting her head to the side.

"It's late – go home," he ordered and turned to leave.

"I will… Goodnight..." There was a brief pause before she called back to him. "Oh, uh – and happy birthday – whether you like it or not," she smiled.

Arthur Gordon turned back to face her and his gruff facial expression softened.

"See you Monday," he sighed and walked out.

"Goodnight," she smiled watching him walk away.

Within an hour Della had finished sorting the paperwork and put it away in the filing cabinet. She took a quick look around her office making mental notes about what she would need to catch up on beginning on Monday. After locking the filing cabinets and her desk, she turned off her desk lamp to get ready to leave. She grabbed her purse and briefcase before heading out of her office to go home for a relaxing weekend.

Stopping to take mail out of her mailbox at her house, she finally unlocked her front door and stepped inside. She immediately turned on a light, kicked off her high heels, and carried the mail into her living room quickly glancing at her answering machine to see if there were any messages. The blinking red light on the machine delighted her and while on her way into her kitchen, she paused by the machine to press the rewind button.

" _I hope Perry has called_ ," she thought to herself while removing leftovers from her refrigerator to reheat in her microwave oven. " _It's almost been a month since I've heard anything from him_ ," she sighed.

She removed the cork from a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass of the red wine while her dinner was being heated. Walking back into the living room with the glass of wine, she went right to the answering machine and pressed the button to play the messages.

There was a reminder from her dentist's office that she was due for her six-month dental exam, a message from her favorite department store that the scarfs she had ordered were now in and ready to pick up, and finally a message to call her friend Jeanne about possibly seeing a movie on the weekend. Once again she was disappointed that there was not a call from Perry.

The sound of the microwave oven signal brought her back into her kitchen where she removed her dinner from the oven and brought it back to her living room to eat in front of her television.

By nine-thirty that night she had turned off the television, finished her glass of wine, and thought about making a call to Perry.

" _It's probably too late to call tonight_ ," she silently concluded. " _There's really not anything to talk about anyway. I might as well just call it a night_."

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Calabasas, CA Della's Home, 10am Saturday, 28 September 1985**

While working out in her back yard garden, Della heard her phone ringing. She quickly took off a gardening glove and an earring to go inside the kitchen door and answer her phone.

"Hello? Yes, this is she..." There was a pause as Della listened to what the caller was saying. Her facial expression turned to shock as she said, "No!" There was another moment of silence before Della continued.

"Yes, I'm still here… Of course," she nodded. "I'll be right there!"

After quickly changing out of her gardening attire and into her white and light blue vertical-striped business suit with a light lavender-colored blouse, Della quickly rushed out of her home and into her car – still in disbelief of the news that Arthur Gordon was murdered overnight.

" _This is just crazy_ ," she thought to herself while driving to Arthur Gordon's home in Pacific Palisades. " _Who would want to kill him? And it was his birthday_!"

Making her way into the driveway of Mister Gordon's estate, she slowly drove in as Police Officers directed her around a sea of news reporters and other onlookers. Once inside the home, she had only a quick opportunity to give her condolences to Mister Gordon's family members who passed her by.

The scene was being processed by forensics personnel and the lead investigator, Lieutenant Cooper, pulled Della aside to ask her questions.

"And just how long had you worked for Mister Gordon," Lieutenant Cooper inquired.

"About eight years," Della quickly replied.

"In what capacity?"

"I originally worked for Mister Gordon as his personal secretary – and then about four years ago he made me his executive assistant," she answered.

"You got along?"

"Yes… Why," she began to get defensive.

"Oh, I understand he was a difficult man?"

"He could be," she said rather matter-of-factly.

Lieutenant Cooper's tone changed suddenly as he pressed Della for more information.

"Where were you between eleven last night and this morning?"

"Home," Della replied before nervously adding, "... _alone_."

Sensing her uneasiness, the Lieutenant began showing her evidence that he had uncovered.

First was an earring that she admitted was hers adding that she probably wore it last about two weeks before. She further explained about her habit of taking off her left earring to answer the phone. She was informed that the earring was found at the murder scene as the Lieutenant glared at her.

Next, she was shown a piece of fabric and asked if she owned a dress made out of that material. When she volunteered that she _did_ have a dress matching that fabric, Lieutenant Cooper requested to go to her house without a search warrant to look around.

"It won't be necessary for a warrant," she offered. "I have nothing to hide..."

In her home, Della continued to cooperate with Lieutenant Cooper's investigation. She sensed that there was something strange going on when she frantically looked in her closet for the dress that matched the fabric he had shown her at the murder scene. She became more concerned when she couldn't find the dress and other Police detectives located muddy shoes in her other closet.

Trying to explain to the Police that she felt that someone was obviously setting her up, the Lieutenant was conferring with the other detectives instead of listening to her.

When a detective finally brought in a bloody dress that connected Della to the murder scene and showed it to Lieutenant Cooper, he turned to Della and informed her that the dress was found in her trash can.

"It can't be _mine_ ," Della insisted.

At that point Lieutenant Cooper bluntly told her that she would have to go with him.

"I hope you have a good attorney," he quickly added before advising her of her Miranda rights. "You have the right to remain silent… If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

Della remained in a daze as she was transported to Police headquarters. She was fingerprinted and photographed before being brought into Lieutenant Cooper's office area.

With ink stains still on her fingertips, she requested another paper towel to clean off the ink.

Wiping her hands with a cloth that a detective had given her, Della looked up at a clock on the wall – it was already eleven-fifteen.

Lieutenant Cooper entered the office as she put the cloth aside.

"You now have the opportunity to make that call to an attorney. After that, you'll be brought over to the county lockup..." He offered her the phone on his desk to use which she politely declined.

"I'd prefer to make my call from a pay phone if you don't mind..."

Nodding to a nearby detective, Lieutenant Cooper gave the okay to take her out in the hallway to a pay phone.

While the detective stood near her, Della connected with a long-distance operator, charging the call to her home phone. Her call to Perry's home was answered after three rings.

"P-p-p-perry," Della stuttered calling out his name.

"Della? What's wrong? Are you okay," Perry asked.

Trying to regain her composure and lowering her voice so that the nearby detective couldn't hear her conversation, Della explained the reason for her call.

"I'm _not_ okay," she said while slowly exhaling. "Arthur Gordon was murdered last night and they've just arrested _me_ for the murder!"

Perry couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"What? Where are you, Della?"

"I'm at Police headquarters – Lieutenant Cooper's office. They're going to take me to jail, Perry," she nervously added. "I need you to find me an attorney – a _good_ attorney! This is really serious!"

Still in shock by her revelation, Perry quickly cleared his head and replied.

"Don't say a word to anyone from now on… I'll take care of everything. Try to relax, Della. I'll make a few phone calls and I'll take care of everything..."

After their call ended, Perry pondered the situation. He took out his silver pocket watch and looked at the time.

" _It's almost eleven-thirty_ ," he said to himself, but in the back of his mind he was focused on the judge's gavel on the face of the clock. " _I've got to get to my office right away,"_ he concluded.

From the desk in his office, Perry began making a series of phone calls. After a quick call to his office assistant, Liz, he felt that the most important call was to retired Sergeant Ben Landro – his long ago investigative friend from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. When Ben found out that Della was going to be booked into the county jail, Ben called his son – the Chief Deputy in charge of the jail's intake department. Satisfied that Ben Landro's son would be able provide VIP accommodations for Della upon her arrival in the jail, Perry moved on to his next important phone call.

The Chief Justice of the appeals court was completely shocked by the nature of Perry's call to his home phone early that Saturday afternoon.

"Would you say that again, Perry? You're resigning effective immediately?"

"You heard me correctly. I've got my assistant coming in right away and she'll have my signature on a resignation letter today."

"Maybe you want to think about this, Perry. Take a vacation and when you come back, we can sit down and discuss this further..."

"Sorry, but my mind is made up. I will call you later next week about this. In the meantime, I appreciate your concern. Once you know the true reason for what you perceive as my hasty decision, you'll understand completely."

Perry's flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles arrived by three-thirty that afternoon. Within an hour he stood in an attorney/client interview room in the Criminal Courts Building awaiting the arrival of Della. As the jail matron escorted Della into the room, the first thing she saw and heard was Perry. His voice sounded very deep and serious.

"Since you called this morning, I've been trying to think of who should represent you... The best man I can think of is… _me_ ," Perry calmly told her.

Still a little bewildered at seeing Perry standing across the room from her, a flustered Della replied – posing with a hand on her hip.

"Since _when_ are appellate court judges permitted to represent defendants," she asked as her emotions nearly caused her to stutter.

"They're not..."

Della nervously shifted her posture and gestured in protest.

"You'd have to step down," she persisted.

"I signed my resignation," Perry assured her.

Sensing that she was going to verbalize more objections to his resignation, Perry continued before she could say anything more.

"Della," he raised a hand to silence her. "Let's say I got tired of writing opinions..."

Trying to choke back her tears at his revelation and forcing a smile to come to her face, Della slowly shook her head. With large strides, Perry smoothly walked across the room to embrace her.

Unable to control her tears any longer, Della cried out his name as she put her arms around him and laid her head onto his chest. Perry wrapped her tightly in his arms – holding her closer as she began sobbing. She was the only thing that mattered to him now – and defending her for the murder of Arthur Gordon was not to be taken lightly.

 **TBC**

Many readers will recognize the dialogue in a scene from the television movie - "Perry Mason Returns" which was written by Dean Hargrove, with characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner. This story continues based on the storyline of PMR but with a few extra things that I'll be adding. Thank you for reading and reviewing.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

 **Los Angeles, CA Criminal Courts Building 5pm Saturday, 28 September 1985**

After nearly five minutes of standing in the attorney/client interview room consoling Della in his arms, Perry walked her to a chair and seated her at a table in the room. He offered her his handkerchief from the pocket of his black overcoat to wipe away her tears. The jail matron cautiously watched their embrace and the handkerchief exchange, but eased up when Perry removed his overcoat as they sat across from each other at the table.

Della was still in disbelief that Perry had resigned from the appellate court to come back to Los Angeles and work on defending her for her arrest – accused of murdering her boss, Arthur Gordon.

"Are you sure that you're doing the right thing, Perry? I mean it's ridiculous that I'm even in this predicament but your abrupt resignation is pretty extreme, don't you think?"

Drooping his overcoat across a chair next to him, Perry raised his hand again to silence her objections to his action.

"What's done is done, Della. I'm not turning back. This is right where I belong and I'm not here to talk about my resignation – I'm here to take care of you." His tone changed as he got back to the business at hand. "Before I came into this room I was only given access to the probable cause statement of your arrest. With the evidence that the police have collected so far, there is already enough to charge you with the murder of Arthur Gordon..."

"But I didn't do it Perry," Della interrupted him with worry on her face.

He reached across the table and took a hold of her hands in his – subtly noticing that she was wearing the black star sapphire ring that he had given her many years ago.

" _We_ know that, but now we have to prove your innocence," he continued. "Let's start by talking about the last time that you saw Arthur Gordon..."

From years of working side-by-side with Perry as he interviewed thousands of clients, Della began by recounting in detail every interaction that she had with Arthur Gordon on the last day that she saw him alive.

"I swear to you, Perry, when he left the office last night, that was the last time I saw him," she concluded. She sighed heavily – her thoughts drifting off knowing that Arthur Gordon was really dead and she would never see him again.

"And you're certain that when he left the office that he was going home?"

Della's thoughts came back to the present. "That was his intent as far as I know… It was his birthday..."

"So I'm guessing that you finished up your work after he left and headed home yourself?"

"That's correct..."

"And until you received the news of his murder this morning, you had no idea of anything unusual going on with him and anyone that would want him dead?"

"No," Della shook her head.

"So you got the call from the police this morning and rushed over to his estate. Now tell me _exactly_ what you discussed with that police Lieutenant – uh, Lieutenant _Cooper_..."

With great detail, Della carefully recited the sequence of events and every bit of her conversation with Lieutenant Cooper as Perry clarified every word of her question and answer session.

After hearing the whole story, Perry sat back in his chair and brought his watch out of his pocket. He flipped open the cover to see what time it was as Della carefully looked on. Catching a glimpse of her lightly biting her lower lip with a look of endearment on her face, Perry gave her a return look of encouragement.

"It's almost six-thirty… That's way past your dinner time – at least I think it is… You probably know already that I can't get you out of jail tonight..."

"Yes I know that," Della sadly replied. "Even though they haven't even charged me with anything yet," she quickly added.

"I suspect that they're diligently working on that as we speak. We can expect to hear something tomorrow or by Monday at the latest… Are they treating you okay?"

Della smiled, sheepishly tilting her head towards her shoulder before answering.

"Except for the fact that I can't _leave_ this building on my own, I think that I have practically all of the conveniences of home. I know _now_ who might have arranged my dignitary-like treatment in here," she continued with a raised brow aimed at him.

Clearing his throat, Perry began to explain.

"It just so happens that the Chief Deputy in charge of all inmates is very closely related to our old friend, retired Sergeant Ben Landro – it's his son. He thought that this temporary place of incarceration is a better fit for you than the regular women's section of the jail."

"I might have known," Della winked at him.

"Right…" Perry reluctantly brushed aside her flirty wink. "Is there anything that I can do for you right now?"

"No… I'll be fine, Perry... Just fine..."

They both stood up at the same time and Perry wasted no time moving towards Della to give her a hug.

"Try to get some rest, Della," he said as he nuzzled his cheek into her soft, light-brown hair. "I'll see you tomorrow..."

"Perry," Della started to say something as he released his embrace.

"Don't say anything, Della," he quietly hushed her by lightly placing a finger over her lips. He gathered his overcoat and walked out leaving her behind with the jail matron.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Criminal Courts Building 8am Monday, 30 September 1985**

Perry was waiting in the office of Jack Welles – the District Attorney in charge of the Criminal Division. Welles made his way through the maze of office cubicles, saw Perry waiting, and walked into his office extending his hand to Perry for a handshake.

"I thought I'd come straight to the prosecutor before the hearing," Perry said as they shook hands.

"It's good to see you, Perry," Welles stated. "I'm really sorry about Della," he quickly added.

Perry slightly nodded to him before Welles continued.

"Now if you're here to talk about bail, I'll have to include the deputy DA that's going to prosecute..."

"Better call him," Perry stated.

"It's not a _him_ , it's a _her_... Times have changed," Welles added as he got on his phone to call his prosecutor.

After politely sparring verbally with Welles and the deputy DA Barbara Scott about Della's bail hearing, Perry left the DA's office to go and meet with Della before the hearing.

Della was already waiting in the attorney/client interview room when Perry arrived at eight-thirty that morning. They embraced again under the watchful eye of a jail matron before Perry assisted Della into a chair at a table in the room.

"I was up late last night looking into things that we talked about yesterday morning – the part about you taking over that conservation Foundation for Mister Gordon. Sorry that I couldn't return last night. How was your day after I left yesterday?"

"It was nice – very nice," Della replied while reaching for Perry's hand across the table. "Thank you for arranging my visit with Doctor McRae Sunday afternoon," she added with a gentle squeeze of his hand.

"She managed to somehow get a hold of me at my hotel after I left you yesterday," Perry explained. "Word spreads quickly in this town when someone famous is arrested."

"Ha! _Famous_ ," Della questioned him with a raised brow before continuing with a concerned look on her face. "I think she read about my arrest in the Sunday paper and in a way, I'm glad that she did. She always has a way of getting me to calm down and make sense of what I'm experiencing. It was a very good visit."

"I'm glad that she was able to visit you – that's not normally allowed you know..."

"Of course I know that – but she _is_ a therapist so I think that helped get her in the door. Oh – and Stefan Corro was able to get a phone call through to me. He thought that I would need all of the spiritual intervention he could give..."

"I hope you understand that he asked me to be able to speak to you – he saw the news of your arrest on the national news. It was a small story, but it caught his attention – even in Denver!"

"Well, I appreciate all that you've been doing for me. Oh – and I _did_ get a message from Paul through one of his connections in the Sheriff's Office. He was out of town and will be back this afternoon..."

"Right," Perry politely added before changing the subject. "Well right now we need to get you ready for your arraignment since as you know, you're being charged with first degree murder. I met with Jack Welles, the DA and I was just introduced to the prosecutor – a deputy DA named _Barbara_ Scott," he stated as he watched for Della's reaction to be prosecuted by a female prosecutor. Seeing no overt reaction from Della, he went on.

"What I know so far is that their case is based on a lot of circumstantial evidence. I'm confident that we'll get you out on bail because right now I think that I can convince the judge that you have no motive. In addition, Welles instructed Miss Scott to allow bail..."

By nine o'clock Perry and Della had moved on to a courtroom for her arraignment before a judge. Identifying himself as Della's attorney, Perry entered a plea of "Not Guilty" for her after the charges against her were formally announced.

When Della was officially released on bail within the hour, she and Perry exited the courts building and were immediately swarmed by a crowd of news reporters as they were trying to get into Perry's Buick Riviera convertible. Perry quickly made his way around to the driver's seat after getting Della seated in the passenger seat while reporters stuck microphones in Della's face shouting at her to comment.

Waving the reporters away, Perry told them, "To answer all of your questions – no comment, no comment, and no comment. Just quote me on that!"

He drove the vehicle away from the curb as the reporters continued taking photographs and called out for more comments.

Thirty minutes later, Perry was parked in front of Della's home where they quickly walked up to her front door – checking behind them to make sure that they weren't being followed. Della nervously fumbled with the door key in her hand trying to unlock the door until Perry calmly took the key from her and opened the door.

"Come on in and make yourself comfortable," she looked up to him smiling as they walked in the door. "I'll make some coffee before I go and change clothes," she added. After a pause, she corrected herself. "On second thought, I'll also take a shower – I feel so grimy..."

Perry was politely listening to her as he looked around her home.

"Just point me in the direction of the coffee maker and _I'll_ make the coffee. You just go and get cleaned up, young lady… And take your time – we have all day to talk..."

After taking a shower and changing her clothes, Della began preparing a tossed salad for their lunch while Perry looked around in the back yard.

"Lunch is ready," she called out to Perry who immediately made his way back into the house through the kitchen door carrying a gardening tool.

"This was probably the tool that was used to break into your house. I found marks on your window frame which indicate that the window was forced open to get in through this window," he stated while getting seated at the table to eat.

Della dished up their salads while commenting on the poor police investigation since they failed to find what Perry had come across.

"How did those detectives miss something as obvious as that? Will you make an issue of that at the preliminary hearing?"

"I can make an issue of it, but right now they're not concerned about whether or not someone broke into your house..."

Della was eating her salad and slightly shivered as she replied.

"It makes me nervous to think that someone was in here messing with my things. It's so eerie..."

"Well when the time comes, we can challenge the planted evidence in the hearing. In the meantime, let's talk about Arthur Gordon and his family..."

While they ate their lunch, Della brought Perry up-to-date on Arthur Gordon's family situation. He was on his second marriage after his first wife committed suicide. The first wife was the mother of his three now-adult children. He had been married to his second wife, Paula, for ten years but that marriage had turned sour within the past year. The Gordon's lived apart – Arthur stayed at his large estate in Pacific Palisades and Paula lived in a penthouse apartment in Century City.

Perry listened closely and occasionally stopped Della to ask questions. The more that Perry and Della talked about Arthur Gordon's family, the more that Perry absorbed hints about motives for others that might have killed Arthur Gordon. He learned that Paula Gordon did not like Della – that in Della's opinion, Paula Gordon felt threatened by Della.

"Do you think she was jealous of you because you were working so closely with him all the time?"

"Oh, I don't know that jealous is the right word to describe her forbidding attitude," Della replied while picking at her salad. "She just goes out of her way to snub me every time I see her."

"Were you ever intimidated by Arthur Gordon's business tactics or mannerisms? I mean how did you really get along with the man?"

"We certainly had our moments – but he usually respected my opinion on some of his business dealings. I worked for a man who was the best at what he did – very much like working for _you_ ," she added with a playful glance at him.

" _Damn_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _She always has a way of weakening my resistance to her flirtatious ways._ _I've got to_ _get_ _her_ _back to the task at hand_."

Pointing to his salad, he deflected her glance.

"As always, this salad is terrible. Way too much dressing on it," he stated and waited for her reaction.

"Well, _as always_ , you flatter me about my culinary talents – or lack thereof," she coyly shot back at him.

Turning more serious, Perry was able to change the subject.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us. We have several strikes against us right now. We'll need to bring in a good private investigator right away..."

"Paul Drake," Della was quick to ask.

"Do you really think he's up to this challenge? I haven't talked to him since he was in San Francisco over the Fourth of July..."

"Go see him, Perry," Della stated seriously. "He's going to be at a jazz club tonight with his band..."

Perry's thoughts drifted off to his memories of Paul Drake Senior and all of the cases they had worked over the years. Could Junior really match Senior's thoroughness and intensity? Could Junior really come through for them?

While Della stood up to clear the lunch dishes, they were interrupted by a loud knock at her front door.

"Maybe that's Paul now," Della said after putting the dishes aside. "I'll go let him in," she added as she walked to the front door.

Upon opening her front door, Della was confronted by a large group of news reporters who began shouting questions at her.

"Miss Street – did you really kill Arthur Gordon?"

"Will you comment on Paula Gordon's accusations that you were having an affair with her husband and that's why you killed him?"

"Did you kill him to take over as President of Arthur Gordon Industries?"

"I'd like an exclusive interview with you! Is it true that Perry Mason is your attorney?"

Perry heard the commotion at the door and immediately pulled Della back away from the door so he could get rid of the reporters. He stood in the doorway to put them on notice to stop harassing Della.

"Miss Street has no comment! This is private property and right now you are all trespassing," he angrily shouted. "Leave the property right now or I'll call the police!"

As he closed the door, some of the reporters heeded his advice and reluctantly walked back towards the curb. At least one of the reporters remained on her doorstep and pounded on the door again. Della moved over to the bay window overlooking her front yard and pulled a curtain back to peek out.

"There's still a group standing by your car out front," she advised.

"I'll take care of this. Where's your phone?"

"Right there by the recliner chair – or there's one in the kitchen..."

Perry made a call to Lieutenant Cooper's office right away. It took a few minutes before the Lieutenant got on the line.

"This is Perry Mason calling, Lieutenant. I'm with Miss Street at her home where we were examining evidence that you overlooked when Miss Street was arrested in her home. Right now there are about a dozen or more news reporters trespassing – walking all over the property impeding _our_ investigation and harassing us. You might want to get a patrol car over here right away – I'll certainly have a case for trespassers contaminating the scene of your primary source of evidence in this case..."

Lieutenant Cooper informed Perry that a police car would be sent to the house immediately to seal off the area.

After finishing the call with the Lieutenant, Perry walked back to stand behind Della who was still keeping an eye on the reporters from the window.

"The Police are on the way. Now I want you to go into your bedroom and pack a bag or two. You're getting out of here..."

"Would you mind telling me where I'm going?"

"I'm getting you a suite in the hotel where I'm staying. Those vultures out there are going to keep your house staked out and you don't need the added stress of having to deal with them. Now go and pack – you'll need enough clothes for a couple of days. We can come back here later this week to pick up anything else that you need."

While Della packed her bags, Perry cleaned up the lunch dishes and decided to take out the trash so he could scout out the back yard for any nosy reporters lingering in the yard. When he got back inside, Della was waiting by the front door with her bags.

"I'll take the bags," Perry directed her. "You're going to go out the back door and walk through back yards to the end of the block. I'll lock up here and drive down to pick you up."

"Is that really necessary," Della inquired as she watched Perry take a look out the front window again.

"Yes. Give me your door key," he requested as he closed the window curtain. "The cops are here now. I'll talk with them for a minute and meet you at the end of the block."

Della walked out the back door and Perry locked up after she made it to the neighbor's yard. After he exited the front door, a Police Officer met him on the doorstep.

"I'm Perry Mason. These reporters have been advised that they are trespassing on this property. Miss Street does not want to be disturbed. Do you have instructions from Lieutenant Cooper?"

"Yes we do, Mister Mason. Apparently we'll be posting officers here around the clock until further notice..."

"Thank you. Lieutenant Cooper knows where to reach me if there's a problem. Good day..."

Perry got Della checked into her suite at the hotel and by three o'clock that afternoon, he left her there so she could take a nap. He returned to his room in the hotel to return calls and look at paperwork on the case.

By six o'clock he returned to Della's suite to arrange for her to eat dinner.

"How was your nap," he asked as a sleepy Della came to her door – a hotel bathrobe covering her pajamas.

"It was wonderful, thank you. Anything new going on that I should know about?"

"Nothing major," he replied as he made his way across the room to look for a room service menu. He located one on a table and handed it to her. "Here – find something to eat. I don't think it's a good idea to show our faces out in public at a restaurant right now until those reporters find a better story to cover..."

"I'm not very hungry," she revealed after putting the menu down at her side. "Will you stay with me for dinner if I _do_ order something?"

"Sure… Let me take a look at this," he said taking the room service menu from her hand. With a quick glance at the menu, he got on the telephone and called room service with their order.

"Dinner will be up in about thirty minutes," Perry advised.

"I better go and get dressed. I forgot a few things at the house so I wrote a list of things that I need," Della added as she went to her bedroom.

"Bring me the list when you come back out here," Perry called after her from the living room area. "I'll pick up your things either tonight or first thing in the morning if you can do without them until then..."

Perry gave a generous tip to the room service attendant after their dinner was wheeled into the suite on a table. Della walked over to the table to begin arranging the dishes to eat, but Perry stopped her.

"You just sit down, young lady. I can take care of this," Perry directed her. "I've never known you to _not_ be hungry, so eat as much as you can. I have a feeling that you ate very little in jail all weekend and the terrible salad you put together at lunch today wasn't enough to fill you up."

"What would I do without you? You're always spoiling me," she smiled up at him as she sat down and placed a napkin on her lap – completely deflecting his endearing sarcasm about her lunch salad.

" _She's still flirting with me_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _It's getting harder and harder to not act on her playful body language_."

"I always spoil my clients – well most of them anyway." Perry changed the subject to keep her from teasing him anymore. "I hope you like the wine that I chose for dinner." He uncovered their dinner plates and opened the wine without further conversation.

While dining on their ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and salads, Della asked what Perry was up to while she napped.

"My first task was getting your car released from the Police impound lot. I successfully argued that because they had already searched your car and didn't recover any evidence, that it should be released immediately. I took a taxi to the impound lot to retrieve it and it's now parked in the hotel parking ramp." He reached into his suit coat pocket and handed her a slip of paper. "This is the ticket for the hotel valet. Do you need any cash for a tip?"

Accepting the valet ticket while tilting her head to the side and smiling up at him, she thanked him. "I'll manage a nice tip for the valet, thank you..."

After they dined Perry decided to go and meet with Paul Drake at the jazz club where he was playing with a band.

"Do you need anything else before I go?"

"No… I'm fine… Say 'Hi' to Paul for me..."

"I will," he assured her as he gently cupped her face in his hands and lightly kissed her forehead. "Get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

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 **Los Angeles, CA Paul Drake's Office 1** **0:45am** **Tuesday, 1 October 1985**

Della had already been in Paul's office for ten minutes before Paul arrived. She was straightening up his desk as he walked into the office.

"What are you doing, Della?"

"Isn't it obvious," she asked. "This place should be declared a disaster area! Perry will be here any minute and if he sees this mess..."

Paul put his leather portfolio on the desk as Della handed him a dead plant and continued sorting stacks of papers on Paul's desk.

"If your father could see this place," Della began to mildly scold him as Paul cut her off.

"Okay, that's enough. I get it. I had to lay off my only office worker two months ago and things just got a little out of hand here," he said in defense of his disorganized office. "And if you found the shutoff notice from the phone company, I've already taken care of that. It's just one more thing I need to remember to do now that I don't have support staff..."

"Don't worry, Paul. I'll have this place presentable before you know it… So how _was_ your meeting with Perry last night?"

"He's got me on a short leash, you know. What he doesn't understand is that I do my job a little different than my father did. He's not very fond of my writing hobby or my blowing off a little steam in a band, but I _know_ I can help on this case. I know how important this is..."

"Don't let him get you down. I've been trying to get him to lighten up a little, but he's in his _dire_ work mode right now."

"Which begs the question – how are _you_ holding up?"

"I'm fine. I have the best men working on my behalf," she replied with a smile.

Their conversation was interrupted as Perry entered the office precisely at eleven o'clock with a very earnest "Good morning" greeting.

Della immediately defended the messy office.

"I'll be ordering a few supplies, bringing in a cleaning crew, and I'll have this place in good shape in no time at all."

"You might want to start by covering the photo of Paul's father on the desk," Perry stated. "If he could see this place right now..."

Perry dropped his mockery of the office condition and turned serious again, taking a seat at a small table in the room.

"I just came from the DA's office. The preliminary hearing is set for next week. We have a lot of work to do in a short period of time."

Paul immediately reached for his portfolio to bring out some of the information that he had gathered already. He handed several documents to Perry right away and summarized what he had found.

"Here's your copy of the entire police report including Arthur Gordon's autopsy report. In addition, through a connection that I have that's working the investigation, there's also a copy of everything that they inventoried as evidence..."

Perry looked over the papers and quietly gave his approval before his tone changed.

"That's fine, Paul. I've also been checking on a few things and found out a lot about what happened to Arthur Gordon. Apparently the housekeeper witnessed a person rushing out of Mister Gordon's home after she received a call for help from him. The housekeeper described a woman looking a lot like Della that ran out the front door. She described her hairstyle, build, and the patterned dress that she was wearing. The housekeeper then found Mister Gordon stabbed to death in his home office."

Della was shocked to hear those details but remained silent listening to Perry as he continued.

"It's obvious to us that this whole scene was set up to make it look like Della was involved in the murder. Now the first we need to find out is who bought a dress like Della's that was used in the crime..."

Della immediately grabbed her purse and produced a receipt for the purchase of her dress.

"When you told me yesterday about the dress, I looked for my receipt for buying it. I even have the receipt for picking it up at the cleaners the other day..."

Paul took the store receipt out of her hand.

"Do you also have a receipt for the shoes?"

Della dug further into her purse and handed Paul the receipt for the shoes also.

"I'm on it. I'll check in with you two later," Paul said as he gathered his portfolio and headed out the door.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing by getting Paul involved in this case," Perry confided to Della.

"Well _I'm_ not worried," she replied as Perry stood up and walked towards her.

"I want you to take it easy, Della. Have you already forgotten that you're the _client_?"

"I need to stay busy, Perry. You and Paul will have your hands full and if I can take care of things from the office, I'll feel a lot better..."

Perry walked back to the table and sat down.

"In that case, here's a list of things that I'll need from _you_ ," he shot back as he handed the list to her.

Della perused the list before replying. He wanted detailed information on every family member and the housekeeper. In bold writing he noted that he wanted as much financial information as possible on all of them.

"This will keep me occupied for a while..."

It was suddenly really quiet in the office while Perry went back to the papers in his portfolio and Della looked on – admiring his dedication to her defense. She couldn't resist letting him know what she was feeling at that moment – to perhaps change his aloof attitude.

"It's nice being with you again, Perry – and working with you again. I've really missed that," she added before watching for his reaction.

" _Oh no!_ _Here she goes teasing me_ _again_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _Give her a smile to acknowledge that you heard her, but don't let her break you_ _r concentration_ _. She's in serious trouble_ _and this is not a good time to let your guard down_..."

Della saw his return smile and felt better that at least he knows that she's happy to be near him again.

Before she could make him any weaker with his desire to run over to her and take her in his arms again, Perry decided that it was a good time to head out to work on his part of the investigation.

"I have an appointment with Paula Gordon and her attorney Ken Braddock. Hope fully I'll gain some insight as to why Arthur Gordon was removing her as head of that conservation Foundation and replacing her with you. I'll check in with you later..."

As Perry left, Della was having a hard time determining if he was really still sore with her for leaving San Francisco abruptly last July, or if he was just overwhelmed by the case already. She sighed and began working on her list of things to do.

 **TBC**

As you can see, the story is now following the plot of the television movie, " _Perry Mason Returns_ ", written by Dean Hargrove. I'm grateful for all of your comments and encouragement. Thanks for reading. There's more to come.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

 **Los Angeles County, CA Tuesday, 1 October 1985**

Perry's strategy for defending Della included one of the things he had always done – bring in the _real_ killer. The first step to that was two-fold. First find evidence that will clear Della of the murder, then find evidence that will indict the real killer. Prominent businessmen like Arthur Gordon were usually harmed by someone close to them – like family or business associates. It usually also had a lot to do with money. Knowing that Paula Gordon – the estranged wife of Arthur, was being removed as director of one of Mister Gordon's charitable Foundations, was one place to start.

When he arrived to see Ken Braddock at Ken's office in Arthur Gordon's estate, he was asked by the attorney's receptionist to wait because Braddock was in his office with Paula Gordon already. Perry watched with interest as Arthur Gordon's son, David, arrived in the office and barged his way in ahead of Perry.

" _Conflicts in the family already_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _There will likely be a fight over who will control Arthur Gordon Industries_..."

After David's brief meeting in Braddock's office, he left in a huff – not even noticing Perry standing in the reception area. Little did Perry know at that time that his meeting with Paula Gordon and Ken Braddock would also be brief. When Perry wanted information from her about why Arthur Gordon was removing her as director of a Foundation, Paula Gordon snapped at Perry. She ended their meeting abruptly by making accusations that Della Street manipulated all of Arthur Gordon's decisions so that she could have the Foundation and Arthur all to herself. Realizing that he was not going to get any straight answers from her in her in her agitated state of mind, Perry left to return to Paul's office.

" _That's exactly the state of mind I want her in – especially when I have to put her on the stand at the hearing_ _if necessary_ ," Perry mused to himself triumphantly as he walked out.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Paul was at the department store where Della purchased the dress that was taken into evidence after Arthur Gordon's murder. By sweet-talking a store clerk, Paul got the clerk to look up other receipts for the dress and told the clerk that he'd be back in the afternoon for the information. His next stop was another department store where Della had purchased the shoes. It was in that department store where Paul realized that he was being tailed by a man that he thought he had caught a glimpse of at the other department store.

Paul lost the man tailing him in the store and managed to get out of the store unnoticed. He waited outside in another part of the parking lot to turn the tables on the man tailing him. When the man left the store, Paul was waiting for him in his vehicle and followed this man to a vacant warehouse building.

In the building, Paul began looking around for the man and his vehicle. He was on foot in the warehouse when the man drove his vehicle towards Paul at a high rate of speed. Paul tried to run away from the vehicle and after successfully getting out of the path of the vehicle, he heard a gunshot and then a crash.

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Perry returned to Paul's office after stopping at a nearby deli to pick up a late lunch for himself and Della. She was busy on the phone when Perry entered the office so Perry unloaded the lunch from the paper bag and began laying it out on the table.

After finishing her phone call, Della acknowledged Perry in the office.

"I hope that you had better luck with Paula Gordon and Mister Braddock. I've run into a slight delay with the bank regarding some of the family finance reports… What have you got there?"

"Lunch," Perry announced. "I could hear your stomach growling five miles away, so I stopped at Chessen's Deli on the way back here..."

Della walked around the desk and joined Perry at the table.

"You're exaggerating again, Mister Mason," Della replied with a smile. "My growling stomach could _not_ have been heard outside of this office. I think that _you_ were just hungry for your favorite roast beef on rye..."

"You're wrong again, Miss Street. It's Chessen's coleslaw that lured me in. It was always _your_ favorite," he grinned while passing her a paper plate and fork.

Della looked over the sandwiches on the table.

"So that roast beef on rye on your plate was just secondary," she quipped with a raised brow.

"Just eat your lunch, Miss Street," he ordered while thinking about her.

" _There she goes again with that look in her eyes. I don't know how much more I can take it before I just grab onto her and_..." He stopped fantasizing right away and put some coleslaw on his plate.

While eating their lunch, they began discussing the charitable Foundation that Della was going to take over from Paula Gordon.

"I didn't get anywhere with Paula Gordon, but Braddock stepped in when I got her on the defense. That's right where I want her."

"Mister Braddock always seems to run interference with Paula and Arthur. When Arthur wanted Paula out of the house last year, it was Mister Braddock that had to deal with her. He convinced Paula that it was in her best interest to cooperate. He was always a mediator with those two."

"Paula Gordon doesn't seem smart enough to take over a large charitable Foundation so I'm not surprised that Mister Gordon wanted you to take over as director. Did he give you any reason as to why he was giving her the ax," Perry inquired.

"Not really. Originally I think he just wanted to keep her busy and out of his way while he worked on his business dealings. When the Foundation began to grow and Paula asked Arthur for more money to put into it, Arthur took a closer look at what she was up to. For some reason, he didn't like what he was seeing. She was using it as more of a social status thing and he didn't like that. He casually mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago that he was going to ask me to take over."

"But he never told you why?"

"No," Della slowly shook her head. "He just brought it up in conversation after we had finished talking about what he wanted done by me on another project in the office."

"There's something that really bothers me about Paula Gordon," Perry stated. "Through the rumors at the DA's office, I heard that a few cops that were at the murder scene were talking about her. They say that after Lieutenant Cooper released her from the scene, she had Braddock take her out for a fancy lunch in Beverly Hills. Obviously she wasn't very upset by Arthur's death..."

"She's still not very concerned or upset. There are still no plans for Mister Gordon's funeral yet," added Della.

"Well we know that he had a will. Didn't you mention that he was in the process of making some changes in his will?"

"Yes," Della nervously replied. "He had an outside law firm working on that. He told me that he was going to make some very profound changes in his will that would make his family very upset… I think he was going to cut everyone out of his will – just leave them with the trust funds he had already set up for them. He was going to have the new will signed next week – after his birthday," she added looking down with a frown.

Perry noticed that Della was having a hard time talking about Mister Gordon, so he changed the subject.

"Have you heard anything from Paul yet? It shouldn't take him this long to track down the dress and shoes."

"No," Della answered – snapping out of her sadness just talking about her old boss. "But I've taken a couple of messages for him on other cases that he has going on. He actually stays pretty busy..."

"I've got a lot of other things for him to look into – especially knowing that Mister Gordon was going to change his will. Every family member is a suspect."

"So what's next for you?"

"I might try talking to the daughter, Laura. According to your notes, she's the one married to the tennis bum, Chris?"

"Yes," Della nodded. "They spend a lot of time at his club – he's the tennis pro there."

"I should also try to corral the son, David, really soon. He left in quite a hurry out of Braddock's office when I was there waiting. I'm guessing that he thinks he'll be taking over the company?"

"That'll never happen," Della seriously replied right away. "Mister Gordon has other more capable executives that will know how to keep the conglomerate together. I don't expect a smooth transition, but I trust that they'll be able to keep David and the rest of the family satisfied..."

The phone rang as Della was taking the last bite of her sandwich. While walking over to the desk to answer the phone, she dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before picking up the phone.

"Drake Detective Agency. May I help you?"

"Hi Della. It's me, Paul. I hope Perry is there because I really need to talk to him right away."

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Perry made his way through the police perimeter at the vacant warehouse and was directed to Lieutenant Cooper who was in charge of the scene. Lieutenant Cooper walked Perry through the crime scene and showed him the dead body of the man that was chasing Paul.

"The man chasing Mister Drake was shot in the head as he tried to run over Drake with his car. The gunshot came from up above," he pointed out to Perry.

"So he crashed the car _after_ he was shot... Who is this man," Perry asked.

"His name is Robert Lynch. We're running his name right now so I don't have any information on his background yet. Why was he following Drake?"

"It probably had something to do with Della Street's arrest," Perry advised the Lieutenant.

With his old school chum Sergeant Stratton, another detective on the case, Paul Drake walked over to Perry and Lieutenant Cooper.

"Is Paul Drake free to go, Lieutenant," Perry inquired when he saw Paul approaching.

After checking with Sergeant Stratton the Lieutenant said that Paul was free to leave. Lieutenant Cooper and Sergeant Stratton walked away leaving Paul alone with Perry.

"Thanks for coming here, Perry. They probably would have held me all night."

"Probably," Perry replied with a harsh tone to his voice as they began walking out of the warehouse.

"Look, Perry. I'm not looking for applause or anything, but this is certainly a break in the case wouldn't you say?"

Perry paused as he turned to face Paul.

"It _would_ have been a break in the case if Lynch were _alive_ ," Perry sternly replied.

"Well don't blame me, Perry. I didn't shoot him!"

"No, but you followed him and he caught onto you," Perry mildly scolded. "Good night, Paul," Perry added before turning to leave.

Paul tried to defend his actions with Robert Lynch.

"But Perry..."

Perry cut him off right away.

"Your office. Ten a.m. sharp," Perry instructed and left with a grin on his face.

Paul showed a huge sigh of relief as he watched Perry walk away.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **Los Angeles, CA Della's Hotel Suite 8am Wednesday, 2 October 1985**

Della stood in front of her bedroom mirror and buttoned the top button of her light-colored silk blouse. As she was fastening an antique brooch over the top button of her blouse, she heard the knock at her door. She grabbed her light pink-colored blazer and walked to the door while putting the blazer on.

The first thing Perry noticed as Della opened the door was the brooch she was wearing. Her pleasing scent was the next thing he noticed as he walked in reminiscing to himself about where he bought her the antique brooch.

" _I saw the look in her eyes when she spotted that brooch in an antique shop in Healdsburg, and just knew that I had to buy it for her. That was a relaxing vacation – touring vineyards in Sonoma County and tasting the finest wines of the region_..."

"Good morning, Della," he said as his thoughts came back to the present.

"Good morning. Breakfast will be here in about ten minutes," Della advised as she walked ahead of him into the living room area.

"I'm sorry about missing dinner with you last night. There was a lot to look over at the warehouse scene..."

"I understand. I'm just glad that Paul is okay," Della replied as she sat down on the couch.

"Right," Perry agreed. "But we're still back to square one. I think we can link the dead guy to this somehow, but Paul needs to come up with a photo of him to show around to the clerks at the department stores."

"Shouldn't the police be doing that," Della asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Like I said before, Della, the police aren't looking for evidence that clears _you_ of the murder. They're building evidence _against_ you because you're the one they've charged with the crime. That's why we need a good investigator on our behalf..."

Tilting her head to the side, Della defended Paul.

"Well I think Paul is doing just fine – so far. He saw the man tailing him and tried to find out why..."

"And now that man is dead, so we're back to square one," Perry shot back seriously.

The knock on the door cut their conversation off and Perry went to the door to let the room service attendant inside. While they ate their breakfast, Perry studied papers from his briefcase and Della looked over her notes from the day before. By nine o'clock they were out the door and heading to Paul's office.

Della immediately began typing up her notes when they arrived in Paul's office while Perry made a phone call to the Police about the evidence they had inventoried on the case. Shortly after ten o'clock Della had finished putting together her file on the information Perry had requested on the family.

"Here's everything I could gather so far on the family," Della stated while handing the file to Perry.

He looked up from his notes and began reading her file.

"This is excellent, Miss Street," he contentedly replied. His mood turned a bit sour, though, when he looked at his watch and noticed that it was ten minutes past ten.

"He's late," Perry snarled. "I specifically told him to be here on time this morning," he added before standing.

"I'm sure he'll have a good excuse, Perry. It's only ten minutes after ten..."

Paul rushed in and immediately apologized.

"Sorry I'm late, but you'll forgive me when you see what I got from the police lab."

Paul handed Perry the lab report on the weapon that was used to kill Robert Lynch. Perry skimmed over the report and shared the information out loud.

"So it was a bullet from a .32 caliber pistol that killed Lynch. Interesting..."

"I only caught a glimpse of the gun as it was fired at Lynch – looked shiny like a silver plated pistol. And you'll be interested in this, too," Paul continued as he handed Perry the entire criminal history file of Robert Lynch.

While Perry studied the criminal history file, Paul looked over at Della and gave her a wink. She returned his wink with a smile knowing that Perry would forgive him for being a little tardy.

"We really needed this, Paul. Where did you get all of this," Perry inquired without taking his eyes off of the file.

"I told you last night that Sergeant Stratton is an old school chum of mine. He wants to do all that he can for me," Paul added triumphantly.

They all discussed the contents of the file. Robert Lynch – aka "Bobby", served time in prison for stabbing a tavern owner. Then while in prison he stabbed another prisoner. Looking at Lynch's physical characteristics and build, Perry surmised that Lynch could have easily disguised himself as a woman and killed Arthur Gordon. Perry's theory was that someone in the Gordon family could have hired Lynch to do the killing. After Lynch fulfilled that duty, he was killed when he became a liability to whomever hired him.

"We need to find out everything we can on Lynch, Paul," Perry ordered.

"I'm all over it," Paul replied enthusiastically. "He was staying at a hotel downtown here. I think I'll go and check that out," he added before packing up his portfolio to leave.

"Nice work, Paul," Della called out to him as Paul began walking towards the door.

"Thanks, Della!" Paul paused at the office door to see if Perry had any words of praise for him also. Hearing nothing, he walked out after smiling at Della.

"You didn't think so," Della asked Perry.

"Think what," Perry replied without looking up from the papers in front of him.

"That it was nice work."

"Oh. Yes it was."

"Well you could have mentioned it," Della pressed on.

"He's still on the case, isn't he," Perry stated rather gruffly.

" _I'm either losing my touch or he's really in a bad mood right now_ ," Della was thinking to herself – finally deciding to just let it be and returning to the files in front of her.

Instantly regretting that his reply to Della was rather curt, Perry looked up at her from his paperwork only to find her smiling at him with a sassy grin that he knew would melt his heart. That's when he noticed that she was wearing the pinky ring on her right hand. It was the ring he had given her for their engagement in Paris over twenty-five years ago.

" _This isn't the time or place,_ " he thought to himself as his heartbeat began racing. " _You better change the subject or_ _you'll be taking that_ _woman in your arms any second now and Lord only knows where that might lead_..."

"What time are we seeing the family this morning," he asked trying while to quash the sexual advances he wanted to make on her.

Della glanced at the clock before replying.

"Eleven o'clock..."

"We better get ready to go. I don't want to be late for the reading of the will," he said while his heart rate finally began to slow down.

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 **Pacific Palisades Estate of Arthur Gordon 11am Wednesday, 2 October 1985**

Walking in to the large, formal dining room of the house, Della immediately began consoling Arthur Gordon's children who were already inside.

"Your Father was a dear friend to me. I didn't kill him," Della calmly explained. Arthur's daughter, Laura, walked over to Della and gave her a hug.

"I believe you, Della," she quietly said as they embraced.

Braddock was introducing Perry to the group when Paula Gordon walked in ranting about Della being there.

"What is _she_ doing here? Get her out of here – _now_ ," Paula immediately shouted.

"Miss Street has every right to be here by the terms of your late husband's will," Perry immediately interjected.

Braddock explained that Perry was correct, but it set off snide remarks between Paula Gordon and Arthur's other daughter, Kathryn.

Braddock got Paula and the others calmed down so the reading of the will took place without further outbursts. Perry was slightly disappointed to hear that Arthur Gordon gave Della a half of a million dollars.

" _Just_ _what_ _I was afraid of. That just gives the prosecution more fuel for the fire – a solid motive_ ," Perry thought to himself.

When the formalities were over, Paula shouted out a parting shot at Della.

"Now get _her_ out of _my_ house! You got what you wanted! Now just leave!"

Perry had a parting shot of his own as the others in the room absorbed what was given to them in the will. He laid all of his cards on the table to evaluate their reaction to what he was about to say.

"Miss Street did not kill Arthur. I believe a man named Robert Lynch – dressed to look like Della Street – was hired to kill Mister Gordon. He was hired by someone in this room. But don't forget – every one of you in this room also had a motive. We'll find out just _who_ is responsible..."

Before leaving the house, Perry and Della were allowed access to Arthur Gordon's study for Della to collect personal belongings. When they walked in to the study, Laura was quickly walking out. Laura walked by them without saying anything and Perry didn't try to stop her. It was in a locked desk drawer that Perry found a confidential file from The Mantis Private Investigation Agency regarding Laura's tennis bum husband, Chris.

"This is interesting," Perry told Della while perusing the file. "Let's get this over with and get out of here."

"Yes, let's get out of here. It feels so strange being in here without Arthur…"

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

After leaving Pacific Palisades, Perry drove Della to her home in Calabasas so that she could check her mail and gather a few other belongings. The first thing that they noticed was a TV news van parked nearby. There was still a police car parked in front of her home, so they felt safe enough to go inside without news reporters confronting them.

When they got out of Perry's car, the Police Officer got out of the squad car. When the officer recognized Perry, he gave a wave and allowed them to walk up to Della's house while keeping an eye on the reporters in the TV news van.

"I can't believe they're still waiting around to get a news story," Della shook her head while walking on the sidewalk to the front door.

"Maybe they'll move on to a breaking news story if they get the hint that we're not going to speak with them here," Perry added as they made it to the door.

While Della gathered her mail from the mailbox, Perry opened the front door and went inside ahead of her. Della immediately put her purse down with the stack of mail on the kitchen counter.

"Would you like me to fix something for lunch while we're here," Della politely asked.

"Let's just take care of what you need to do here right now. We can grab something on the way to your work office..."

"Right."

Della saw the blinking light on her answering machine and pressed the rewind button to get her messages. While it was rewinding, she made her way in to her bedroom to pack more clothes and jewelry into a suitcase to take back to the hotel. Returning to the living room, she left the suitcase by the front door and returned to the answering machine to press the button to hear the messages.

"You have seventeen new messages," a rather robotic-sounding voice declared.

Della grabbed a notepad by the answering machine and began writing down her messages. Most of the messages were from her colleagues at Arthur Gordon Industries. All of them expressed their condolences on not only the loss of Mister Gordon, but also gave her their support knowing how preposterous it was that she was arrested for the murder. Many of Arthur's close associates also wanted her to call back since they were all looking for important information for running some of the day-to-day operations of the business that only Della would know about.

Perry joined her by the answering machine and placed a hand on her shoulder as she scribbled notes for each message.

"Your colleagues think the world of you, Della. Apparently you're the glue that holds the place together. What do you say we get you over to your office so you can give them some direction?"

The drive over to Arthur Gordon Industries was quick, but Della was quiet for the whole ride and just stared out the passenger seat window of the car. When Perry pulled his car into Della's reserved parking spot in front of the building, he reached over and gently took a hold of her hand.

"Just remember, Della, until we get more information on Arthur's family, any one of your co-workers could also be a suspect in Arthur's murder. Be careful about what you say. Just stick to what you can help them with in the interim – no discussion of your arrest or what we know so far..."

With a gentle squeeze of Perry's hand by Della, she took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

"I won't be long here. Let's just get this over with. I still have work to do in Paul's office when I finish here..."

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Della never made it back to Paul's office that day. She got so involved in helping some of the top executives of Arthur Gordon Industries that Perry decided it was okay for her to remain there while he went to find Gordon's daughter Laura for an interview. Della ended up staying at her office to update the staff on Mister Gordon's projects that she had direct knowledge of. Perry returned to pick her up around six o'clock to take her to dinner.

They found a small Italian restaurant and were seated in a secluded booth hoping that nobody would recognize them and tip off any news reporters.

After ordering their dinner, Della sipped her glass of Chianti and wanted to know if Perry had learned anything from Laura.

"I confronted her about the confidential file on her philandering husband and asked her if she was looking for that file when we saw her in Mister Gordon's study. I'll let you know right now that I was very direct with her to make her defensive."

"What did she say?"

"She claims to not know anything about the file. I laid it on pretty thick telling her that the contents of that file and her inheritance gave her motive to kill her father. She angrily denied killing her father. When I saw Chris walking toward us, I left it at that and stood back to watch her interaction with him. I couldn't hear what they talked about, but her actions certainly changed his attitude towards her right away."

"So what's next?"

"After dinner I'm going to drop you off at the hotel so you can get some rest. Paul wants me to meet him in his office later. He said that he has some information to share."

Shortly before eight o'clock that evening, Perry ran into Paul on the sidewalk outside of Paul's office.

"Where's Della?"

"I dropped her at the hotel. She needs some rest. She's had a long day… So what did you find out today?"

As they walked into the building, Paul told Perry about his day.

"I found Sergeant Stratton at Lynch's swanky hotel suite. He was in there with a search warrant that they were packing up from. When I got inside, I noticed a wig on a table in the living room area. It looked exactly like Della's hairstyle and coloring. I told Stratton that it could be evidence, but he cut me off and wanted to throw me out! He said something like he'd be in a lot of trouble if Lieutenant Cooper knew that he was giving me information on the case. Anyway, I couldn't convince him to take the wig as evidence. So when he and his crew left, I hid inside to look around and figure out a way to legally get that wig. Long story short, someone came into the hotel room and I had to hide from them by dangling off the balcony – eighteen floors up! They were only in there about a minute. When I got back inside, the wig was gone!"

"Do you know who these people are? Did you see their faces?"

"I only saw the custom-made cowboy boots that one of them was wearing."

By the time they made it to Paul's office door, Perry was losing his patience.

"Paul, what in the hell can I do with _that_ information? I can't subpoena a pair of boots!"

"I know that! But what was I supposed to do? I was dangling from the balcony of a skyscraper!"

"Well that's the second time you've been close to important leads and you've blown it both times!"

Paul threw his hands up in the air and walked across the room trying to diffuse the situation knowing how angry Perry was with him.

"Look, Perry. I admit that I haven't exactly saved the day here, but I'm doing the best I can. Della is very important to me, too," he added as he walked towards Perry who was seated at the table. "What do you want me to do, Perry," he asked leaning over the table.

Without looking up from the papers in front of him, Perry made it very clear to Paul what he wanted.

"Find a way to tie Lynch into whoever hired him," Perry directed him with a rather scathing tone in his voice.

"You can consider it done," Paul irately replied before stomping out of his office and slamming the door.

Perry remained sitting at the table and furiously slammed down a file that he was holding in his hand. He clasped his hands together under his chin feeling frustrated with Paul's abilities as an investigator.

" _Damn it_ ," he said to himself. " _We get so damn close to major breaks in the case and manage to screw it up every time. I wonder if I should bring in another investigator_..."

 **TBC**

Thank you for your continued interest in the story and your patience when I have delays between posts. I am editing the chapters that I have already written and it takes a lot of time to keep the story flowing without omitting important things. As always, I appreciate your reviews and comments.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

 **Paul Drake's Office 9am Thursday, 3 October 1985**

"Where do you suppose Paul is this morning," Della asked Perry as she began pouring freshly-brewed coffee in the office.

Perry was seated at the table in the room sorting through his files but didn't look up at Della to reply.

"I don't think we'll see him in person this morning," Perry said rather ashamed of himself for the stern words he had with Paul the night before.

"Something tells me that you men are arguing with one another about this investigation. You were awfully quiet at breakfast this morning. Now you're avoiding telling me what you met with him about last night..."

" _Damn! She doesn't miss a thing_ ," Perry thought to himself – stalling to find the right way to tell her what he and Paul had discussed.

"He came across some important evidence yesterday, but lost the opportunity to bring it in and properly add it into our case," he finally explained.

With two cups of coffee in her hands, Della made her way across the room and sat down at her typewriter across from him at the table.

"So you raised your voice with your disappointment in the matter, he got defensive and stomped out," Della guessed as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Perry.

Perry finally made eye contact with her.

"To put it mildly, yes – it went something like that..."

Della sighed and slowly shook her head.

"Do I need to have an intervention with the two of you to resolve this?"

"I'll take care of it. You don't need anything else to worry about right now. I'm sorry that you even have to _think_ about dealing with Paul and me..."

"Well would you mind letting me in on what your disagreements are about?"

Perry looked back down at the files in front of him and paused to take a sip of the coffee.

"Like I said, yesterday Paul came across more important evidence in Lynch's hotel room, but someone stole it from the room while he was in there hiding. I can make an issue out of it in Court if I need to, but it would have been better to _present_ it in Court rather than just get it on the record as _hearsay_..."

"What was this evidence?"

"A wig that was the color of your hair and your hairstyle. Apparently Paul was there when his friend Stratton was executing a search warrant in Lynch's hotel room. Paul told him to take the wig as evidence, but Stratton told him that it wasn't important. Back in the old days, Paul's father would _never_ have given up in getting the cops to recover that item! You'll recall that there were several times that Paul got a hold of us somehow and we got a Court Order to recover evidence. Other times he would have either pounded some sense into that cop or would have just taken the wig in front of the cop!"

Once again, Della felt the need to defend Paul Junior.

"Times have changed, Perry. Paul Senior probably could have gotten away with that back in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, but in the 80's things are more technical. Police procedures have changed a lot – especially with computer databases and police lab procedures. I think everything that Junior learned in his college criminal justice studies influenced his decision to back off from his friend Stratton..."

"That's part of the problem – college educated young people without a lick of experience or common sense!"

"I can see that I'm not going to change your mind on this, so let's change the subject… What are your plans for the day?"

"I'm going to try and get some information out of David Gordon. I believe he'll be at his health club this morning. After that I'm going to pay a visit to Kathryn Gordon. Her attitude at the reading of the will was interesting to say the least… What will you be doing today?"

"I'm trying to sort out the mess that Paula left the Foundation in. Looking at all of these files, that should keep me busy for a while… Do you know what Paul is working on?"

"I asked him to find a connection between Lynch and whoever might have hired him. Hopefully he'll come up with something – and soon!"

Perry calmed down a bit after getting that off his chest and continued after sipping more coffee.

"Look, I'm just a little frustrated about our investigation so far. Last night I actually contemplated adding another investigator on the case, but I knew that you would never like that. I'm giving Paul another chance – we still have a few days to come up with something positive."

Della began sifting through the files in front of her and quietly replied.

"You're the boss," she said while sipping her coffee with a brow raised in his direction.

"Whatever you say… I'll be out and about. I'll call you later," Perry advised as he finished his cup of coffee.

Della relaxed her shoulders and looked up to him as he was packing his portfolio.

"No matter what happens, Perry, I'm glad that you're on the case. This will all work out in the end. If we lose the preliminary hearing, we'll have plenty of time to prepare for a trial..."

" _She never has any negative thoughts_ ," Perry thought to himself. " _I better get out of here before I_ _walk over to her and_..."

Perry cleared his throat before thinking or saying anything more.

"I hope that this won't go any further than the preliminary hearing. I'll be in touch… Plan on meeting for dinner tonight."

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After studying the criminal history of Robert "Bobby" Lynch overnight, Paul knew that he'd need more information to track down Lynch's family and anyone else who might have hired him to kill Arthur Gordon. Lynch had a wife whose name was Luanne, but Paul couldn't find any information on her that would give him an address for her. He needed to track down his friend Sergeant Stratton to get that information.

Paul found Stratton as Stratton was about to move in on a search warrant on another case. He had to chase after Stratton into an apartment building all the while shouting at Stratton to stop so he could talk to him. Suddenly Paul was directly involved in the search warrant operation which quickly turned into a chaotic scene with one perp jumping out a window, and two others remaining in the apartment for Paul to contain. When Stratton returned to the apartment after chasing down the one who ran from the scene, he was finally able to give Paul the information on Lynch's wife.

"She's his _ex-wife_ , Paul. You wouldn't have found information under her married name. Try her under her maiden name where she works singing at the Quarter Horse Club – the country and western bar."

Posing as an ordained minister, Paul was able to talk with Luanne between her singing performances – offering his condolences for Lynch's death. This approach got Luanne to open up and she gave him information on where Lynch's family was located in the surrounding area. Paul learned that Lynch had a sister in a nearby town, and other family members in the town of Acton – a long way out of town.

After finding Lynch's sister, the only information that Paul got out of her was that Lynch was taking on odd jobs once he got out of prison – not one of his jobs involved doing something legal. She only knew that he occasionally worked for some big shot attorney, but didn't know the attorney's name. Paul's next inclination was to do as Perry asked – find out which family member hired Lynch. By that evening, he was back in his office looking over his files and notes, but Della and Perry were already gone.

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Once again, Perry and Della found a secluded booth in a restaurant for dinner – this time a French restaurant. It had been several years since they had dined at Franchi's so they did not know who the new manager was. Perry figured that if he is not recognized by anyone who would make a fuss over them, the less likely anyone would alert news reporters of their presence there.

Upon being seated, Della updated Perry on some of the things that he had asked her to do during the day.

"I submitted your witness list to the court clerk's office. Those subpoenas will be ready to pick up in the morning..."

"Excellent. I'm sorry that you're having to work so hard on this..."

"Nonsense, Perry. I simply made a phone call. It really wasn't too difficult. Besides, it keeps me busy and I enjoy that..."

"We'll probably need Paul to deliver those subpoenas either tomorrow or on the weekend," Perry added as their waiter arrived at their booth.

After their waiter left with their drink and dinner order, Della wanted to find out what Perry had found out all day.

"You've been busy all day. Did you find out anything helpful," she asked while smoothing out a cloth napkin on her lap.

"There are a few deep, dark secrets that I think I'm just beginning to uncover. When I tracked down David Gordon at his health club, he was being strong-armed by some thug in the locker room. That thug is either connected to him as a loan shark or he's working for one of the investors that David defrauded. You did a wonderful job uncovering his financial woes. It gives David a strong motive for killing his father..."

"His shady financial escapades had always been a concern of Mister Gordon's. He managed to keep David's hands out of the company books by setting him up with mundane projects that Mister Gordon knew he would never mess up. What a shame that he had no business sense like his father."

"Well things got even uglier when I met with Kathryn in her cozy seaside estate," Perry began to explain as the waiter brought their dinner drinks.

"So what kind of deep, dark secrets is Kathryn keeping," Della asked.

"Did you know that she's having an affair with Ken Braddock?"

The shocked look on Della's face indicated that she knew nothing of the affair.

"He's married!"

"And going through a divorce apparently. He came out of hiding when I made Kathryn aware that I suspected that she was not alone in the house. He thanked me for keeping their affair secret – but I have a feeling that he just gave me more reason to bring that out in the open in Court if needed..."

"I wonder if Mister Gordon had a file on _that_ indiscretion also – like the investigative file he had on Laura's husband Chris," pondered Della.

"We'll have to pass that information on to Paul to check out. I get the feeling that both Kathryn and Braddock are covering something up – like when Braddock provided alibis for both of them during Lynch's murder in that vacant warehouse. Have you heard from Paul at all today?"

"He called to say that he tracked down Bobby Lynch's ex-wife. She had a little information on his family – but he was going to track them down tomorrow. He found Lynch's sister and she told Paul that Lynch has been up to no good since his release from prison. Paul wanted to meet with his buddy Sergeant Stratton again to look into other things on the case..."

"Well unless he calls tonight, I'll need you to ask him to look into David's fraudulent investment deals, and Ken Braddock's marriage tomorrow among other things."

"Are you giving up on them?"

"No. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but I need to leave for San Francisco in the morning," Perry added.

"Uh, no, you _didn't_ mention that," Della stated with a puzzled look on her face. "What's going on in San Francisco if I may ask?"

"Sorry I forgot to mention it. For one thing, I have an important meeting at the Bohemian Club on Saturday. I have to officially turn over the legal committee duties to a successor. In addition, I just thought that I could get to San Francisco on Friday to tie up a few loose ends with the Appellate Court. By going in to my office, I can meet with the Chief Justice in person again – and also use their extensive law library for some research while I'm there."

"But my hearing is Monday morning," Della reminded him with a worried look.

"I know that. I'll be back here Sunday afternoon. I plan on driving back so I'll leave early on Sunday morning." He reached across the table for her hand. "Don't worry, Della. I'll be back in plenty of time to meet with both you and Paul on Sunday," he assured her with a light squeeze of her hand.

"I suppose that I can keep working on the charitable Foundation mess while you're gone… But I _will_ be spending Saturday evening with Jeanne at her place in Bel Air."

"That's a good idea," Perry added. "You need to find some time to relax with friends – at least for a night… Paul can take care of what's needed for the next few days. Hopefully he can stay out of trouble while I'm gone..."

"I'll keep Paul out of trouble while you're gone," Della replied with a smirk as their dinner entrees arrived.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

 **San Francisco, CA Bohemian Club 6pm Saturday, 5 October 1985**

John Wilburn was waiting for Perry in the bar at the club after Perry finished his meeting resigning as chair of the legal committee. Perry got a drink at the bar before joining John at a table.

"How did it go," John asked as Perry sat down with his drink.

"I got a lot of information in the law library all afternoon yesterday. I actually had to brush up on some changes in court procedures by reading a few law journals. I also tied up some loose ends with the Appellate Court. It was good to see most of the office staff."

"I wasn't referring to what you did yesterday, Perry. I was wondering about the committee meeting..."

"Oh! Well that was painless for the most part. My successor as the legal committee chair will be fine. Now _he_ can have all of the headaches dealing with petty legal issues involving the club..."

"Hmm. I wasn't aware that our club even _had_ legal issues," John stated while exhaling smoke from his pipe.

"Most of these conflicts are member versus member – if you can believe that! I can still be a part of the committee since I'm not giving up my membership here – yet," Perry added.

"I hope that you'll remain a member. After all, we have members from practically all over the world. After Della's court case, do you have any definite plans yet? For instance, will you return here or stay in LA?"

Perry swallowed more of his drink before replying.

"That's up to Della… If we can work things out, I want to be with her… I want to be with her more than anything in the world..."

"Has she given you any notions about working things out between the two of you?"

"All of the time," Perry replied right away. "Her not-so-subtle flirtations are driving me crazy! It's so hard to concentrate on the case when I just want to toss everything aside and throw myself at her feet… She merely gives me one of her _looks_ and I have to turn away and take a deep breath."

"Do you want some advice, Perry?"

"Of course I do, John! What should I do?"

"For one thing, you should take advantage of every opportunity she gives you to reunite. Act on those hints! Take her in your arms and show her how much you love her and care for her."

Perry slowly shook his head in disagreement.

"I can't do that right now, John. She's in big trouble and the case is solid against her right now. I have a bad feeling that this is going to end up in a long, dragged out court trial if we can't come up with something to clear her in the preliminary hearing."

"Suit yourself, Perry. But she probably needs some affection from you also. Think about it..."

"I think about it a lot, John. But for right now, I can give her a hug or a peck on the cheek and that will just have to do. Besides, what if I'm reading her signals all wrong? What if she's just coming on to me hoping that I'll stick around as her attorney," Perry concluded while rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, brother," John rolled his eyes at Perry. "You're worse off than I thought! She's flirting with you because she's coming around, Perry – just like I said that she would. Take my advice – start paying some attention to your client's flirtations instead of all of your normal legal stuff."

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 **Paul Drake's Office 4pm Sunday, 6 October 1985**

Perry walked into the office and found Della alone in front of her typewriter organizing files on the table.

"Hi! You're here alone," Perry asked looking around the office.

"Hello! Paul should be around soon – I hope. He finished the subpoena deliveries earlier today… How was your drive down from San Francisco?"

"Long. I was able to think a lot about what else we need to do today if it's not too late already."

"Well Paul knows that you'd be here by now, so he should be here any time now," Della added while nervously glancing at the clock on the wall.

"I thought Paul would be here _now_ so we could all talk about our strategy for tomorrow. That would give us plenty of time to put things together..."

"Well until he gets here, I want you to look over these notes I've compiled on the Foundation and a few other things about the family. I've also typed up Paul's notes on things that he's uncovered with Mister Gordon's family and Ken Braddock..."

Perry put his briefcase aside and took the files that Della was handing over to him.

"You've done a lot of work, Miss Street," Perry smiled at her. "Now how are _you_ doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I just want to get this over with," she replied with a weary smile.

" _Maybe it's time that I start taking some of John Wilburn's advice_ ," Perry thought to himself. He immediately reached across the table for her hands.

"Let's hope that all of your hard work on this case will pay off tomorrow," he said while gently squeezing her hands and smiling at her.

The weary smile on Della's face turned more ardent which satisfied Perry's thinking.

It was nearly six o'clock when Perry finished reading over and discussing the files that Della had prepared for him.

"You're hungry… Why don't I go out and get something for us to eat here? I wish Paul would get back here..."

Della sat back in her chair and stretched her arms above her head.

"I think we could both use something to eat. What do you have in mind?"

"How about some Chinese? I passed by Ming's on my way here and they're open. Let's call in an order and I'll go and pick it up..."

Perry was still away picking up dinner at Ming's when Paul hurried into the office.

"What are you still doing here," Paul asked as he walked over to his desk.

"We were waiting for _you_..."

" _We_? Is Perry here?"

"He went out to pick up something for dinner. We ordered enough for you, too."

"Well I don't have time to stick around – especially if he's going to scream at me again."

"He didn't _scream_ at you, Paul," Della immediately defended Perry. "His voice just gets a little louder when he's frustrated at how an investigation is going. He complimented your case notes that I typed up for him. I hope that you'll wait around for him..."

"Why don't you just tell him that I'll call him later? I have one more thing to check on tonight and then I hope to put some things together tomorrow. What have you got going," Paul asked while taking a handgun out of his desk drawer.

The handgun in Paul's hand alarmed Della.

"I'm still putting the files together for him on the Foundation. Just what do you think you're going to do with _that,"_ she asked while staring at the revolver.

"I'm just taking out some insurance. I have to head out to Acton first thing in the morning and I don't expect the Lynch family to be very cooperative," Paul added as he spun the cylinder on the revolver in his hand.

"Acton? I read something about the town of Acton involving the Foundation," Della stated while looking into the Foundation file. "Here it is – the Foundation has a solar power research project in Acton..."

"Let me see that," Paul requested as he walked over to Della's table. He quickly read a summary on the research project before replying.

"That's the tie in, Della! The Foundation and the Lynch family," he added triumphantly as he tucked the revolver into the waistband of his trousers.

"I wish you'd stay around and talk to Perry about this – especially that piece of _insurance_ that you just tucked into your trousers..."

"Don't worry about me, Della. I know what I'm doing. I don't plan on using any force, but if I do have to use it, I know exactly what to do with it… I'll see you tomorrow," he added as he headed for the door.

Paul was only gone about thirty seconds when he returned and quickly walked over to his desk as Della watched.

Opening his desk drawer again, he took some things out and placed them in his pocket.

"Better bring the bullets along," he quickly explained to Della as she slowly shook her head when he walked out again.

Perry was getting out of his car with a large bag of Chinese food and spotted Paul as he was walking out of the office building.

"Paul! Where are you going? I thought we'd meet to talk about the investigation..."

"Della knows what I've got going," Paul answered a little uncomfortably as he continued walking towards his vehicle parked at the curb.

Perry let out a sigh of frustration and calmly asked Paul to stop and talk.

"Listen, Paul. I know you're upset with me and I apologize for being so short with you the other night. At the time, things weren't going very well, but now that I've read over your case notes, I think we're doing a little better. I'm sorry that I've been so rough on you..."

Paul stopped and faced Perry.

"Yeah, well, I think we just have differing opinions on how things get done, that's all."

"True," Perry sighed again while shifting the bag of food from his one arm to the other. "I'll admit that I'm used to the way your father investigated things for me. He didn't need a lot of direction – most often. I told him what I wanted and he always managed to come through for me…" Perry paused before continuing. "I really miss your father, Paul. I miss the old days of taking on difficult cases where we didn't have a lot to go on for a good defense. After reading about what you've accomplished while I was gone the past few days, I'm impressed with your efforts. In many ways, you're just like your father..."

Paul was staring down and away while listening to Perry.

"I'll admit that I may have messed up a bit, but I just knew that I'd find a way to overcome my mistakes. It just took a little longer that's all..."

"Why don't you come back up to your office and have dinner with us? We bought extra for you..."

Paul looked up and around before replying.

"I suppose I could eat a _little_ something… Did you by any chance buy an extra egg roll?"

Perry put his free arm around Paul's shoulder as they began walking back into the building.

"There's _two_ extra egg rolls in the bag for you. That should hold you over while you tell me where you were going in such a hurry..."

"I'm heading to Acton first thing in the morning but I have just one more thing to look into tonight."

"What's going on in Acton," Perry asked as they walked to the elevator.

"Lynch's family lives in Acton. According to Della's notes on the Foundation, I think I'll find that there's a tie in to Lynch there."

"Atta boy," Perry said as they got on the elevator. " _He's just like his father after all_ ," Perry mused.

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 **Los Angeles County Courthouse 8:45am Monday, 7 October 1985**

After watching Della barely eat any of her breakfast in her hotel suite earlier that morning, Perry brought Della over to the Courthouse in a taxi. He heard in advance that the media had staked out the Courthouse parking ramp and he wanted to avoid them by arriving at a side door in a taxi.

" _She's probably just as nervous as I am and we don't need any added stress from news reporters_ ," Perry thought as they exited the taxi. They made it into the Courtroom without any media interference and began unloading their files on the defense table.

Perry was immediately approached by two persons that he had subpoenaed as witnesses for the defense. After getting Della seated at the table, Perry ushered the two witnesses to the back of the courtroom to explain what he was going to need them for.

By the time Perry made it back to the defense table, he noticed that Della was ready to go with a note pad in front of her.

"I hope we hear from Paul soon. He was hoping to be here by now..."

"Are you worried," Della asked.

Perry replied that he was not worried, but Della thought that the look on his face showed concern.

"You're taking notes," he quietly asked her.

"It's my job... isn't it," she asked him back.

"Well, I suppose…"

Their conversation was interrupted when he was greeted by the prosecutor, Barbara Scott. The smug look on Miss Scott's face indicated to Perry that she was thinking that the hearing was going to be really easy for her. Perry thought otherwise.

As the Judge entered the courtroom, they all stood up as the hearing was called to order. Perry put an arm around Della and pulled her close before they sat down.

" _Look at her_ ," Perry said to himself. " _Her chin is up and that dauntless look on her face makes her look so confident. I wonder what's she's feeling inside_..."

Della caught a glimpse of Perry looking at her and she showed him an optimistic smile. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as the hearing began.

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Paul had left for Acton in his open canvas-top Jeep vehicle very early that morning. Upon arriving in town, he had an uneasy feeling about not being very welcome in the town when asking a cocky young man at an old gas station about the solar research project. The young man denied knowing anything about a solar project so Paul just asked directions to the Lynch family's place. When he got directions to the Lynch place, he left in his Jeep and watched in his rearview mirror as the cocky young man immediately went for a nearby payphone.

" _It looks like he's going to be alerting someone that I'm on my way to the Lynch place_ ," Paul thought to himself as he drove in the direction of the Lynch's place. " _It's a good thing that I have my revolver along on this trip_!"

It was a very wise decision to bring along some fire power. As he tracked down Bobby Lynch's father and brother out along a series of unmarked dirt roads, he was confronted by the Lynch family who tried to run him down with an all-terrain vehicle and eventually with high-powered weapons of their own.

By the end of the confrontation, Paul got the drop on the Lynch family and was able to get the information he needed. Taking a quick glance at his watch, Paul got back in his Jeep to race to the Los Angeles County Courthouse to bring Perry the information needed to help solve the case.

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Perry toiled away in the court room all morning, anxiously looking at his watch wondering where Paul was. The prosecutor brought out testimony first from the Medical Examiner who described in detail the fatal penetrating wound inflicted on Arthur Gordon. He also was able to introduce the weapon and blood stains on the dress worn by Arthur Gordon's killer. Perry was only able to get the Medical Examiner to admit that only considerable force could have been used to cause such a fatal wound.

Back to his old tricks of deception from his younger days, Perry was able to cast doubt on the housekeeper's testimony about seeing a woman looking like Della Street running away from the murder scene. One of Perry's defense witnesses caused a commotion in the court room then ran from the room. When the housekeeper was asked to describe the commotion she had just witnessed in the court room, she clearly described a woman. Perry brought the witness back into the court room and introduced a man dressed as a woman to the Court. When Perry and the prosecutor were asked to approach the bench about the incident, Perry won his point about being able to introduce the concept of Bobby Lynch being involved in Arthur Gordon's murder.

Perry finished examining the store clerk who positively identified Bobby Lynch as the man that she had sold a dress to identical to the one owned by Della. The wise prosecutor got the store clerk to admit that she also sold the dress to another person present in the court room – Della Street, the defendant.

After Perry finished getting testimony from Bobby Lynch's Parole Officer, Paul rushed into the court room. With a stack of papers in his hand, Paul made it to the defense table and Perry got a moment from the Judge to confer with Paul.

"These papers are just props, Perry," Paul quietly explained. "I found the connection! The solar research project is a scam. According to Bobby Lynch's father, he was paid to keep up the _illusion_ of the project. A project overseen by Ken Braddock..."

Perry was very pleased with that information and took a moment to put it all together in his mind. He began to unravel the mystery of who had hired Bobby Lynch to kill Arthur Gordon. First up was Paula Gordon who had been writing checks for this fraudulent solar research project. Next up was Kathryn Gordon who had to admit that she owned a silver-plated .32 caliber handgun – the same type of weapon used to kill Bobby Lynch in that vacant warehouse. When he got Ken Braddock on the stand, Perry was able to get Braddock to lie about the Foundation's existence under oath.

The court was made aware that Braddock diverted funds from this supposed solar research project to his own pocket – to support his mistress, Kathryn Gordon. Perry didn't stop there, though. He again used one of his old court room tactics to break Ken Braddock.

"Would you like me to read to the Court a signed statement from Mister Frank Lynch, Bobby Lynch's father, who said that you paid him to keep the non-existent solar research project a secret and that you hired his son Bobby Lynch to kill Arthur Gordon thereby framing Della Street for the murder of Arthur Gordon?"

While Ken Braddock nervously listened to Perry's rant while squirming on the stand, Perry continued unmercifully.

"Isn't it true that if Della Street took over the directorship of the Foundation, she would have discovered your secret? So you had to get her and Arthur Gordon out of the way? Isn't it true that you used Kathryn Gordon's .32 caliber gun to kill Lynch and tried to use her as an alibi for your whereabouts when Lynch was killed in that vacant warehouse? Well Mister Braddock," Perry asked with his loud, stern voice.

Ken Braddock finally broke down on the stand and only muttered, "I'm sorry Kate..."

Perry moved in for the kill of his own bringing Braddock out of his trance.

"Mister Braddock… Isn't it _all_ true?"

When Braddock quietly replied, "Yes...", the court room broke out in hushed tones of astonishment. While the prosecutor bowed her head down and rubbed her forehead in frustration, Perry immediately asked for all charges to be dismissed against Della Street. The Judge adjourned the court when the prosecutor agreed to dismiss all chargers. Ken Braddock was taken into custody and escorted from the stand by a court deputy.

Perry returned to the defense table where Paul began sharing with Della the information he gave Perry.

"So what was really in that paperwork that you gave Perry," Della asked right away.

"It was the old cutoff notice from the phone company," Paul replied with a smirk on his face.

Della just shook her head, smiling, and turned to Perry with her head now tilted to the side.

Perry saw Della looking at him for an explanation.

"I didn't say that I had a signed statement, just that if he'd like me to read one," Perry added.

"So what would you two like to do now," Paul asked enthusiastically.

"Let's celebrate," Della suggested right away.

"In that case, I'd like to take you both out for lunch," Paul said.

Sorting through paperwork in front of him, Perry said that he'd be along with them in a moment because he wanted to give the prosecutor some advice privately.

Before Della could get up from the defense table, Perry moved to hold onto Della's arm.

"Della," he paused as Della turned towards him and placed her hand on top of his.

"Don't say anything, Perry. I'm fine… Just fine," she happily assured him quietly with a small sniffle.

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The first thing Paul ordered at their lunch was a bottle of champagne for the start of the celebration. After popping off the cork from the bottle of bubbly, he poured their glasses full before proposing a toast.

"To the finest criminal defense team in the Los Angeles area," he said as he lifted his glass.

Della corrected him right away.

"Not only the best in _LA_ , but the best in the _whole country_ ," Della added jubilantly as they all tipped their glasses together.

While eating their lunch, they all reflected on how the case successfully came together.

"It was teamwork," Perry proudly exclaimed. "Paul's relentless footwork – even with a few bumps in the road to overcome – and Della's expertise at gathering the right background information, made for a good team effort in my opinion..."

"But let's not forget to compliment your court room demeanor. You haven't lost your touch at all reaching in to your bag of tricks, counselor," Della added with a smile.

"Those were not tricks at all, Della. I was merely stalling for time hoping that Paul would get there with the information we needed to finish our case," Perry advised.

"So what happens now," Paul asked nonchalantly. "In a way, you're both currently unemployed..."

Perry and Della exchanged glances at one another until Perry spoke up.

"I wouldn't be opposed to opening the law office again – but only if I have a team in place to assist me..."

"You can count me in," Paul stated right away.

When Perry and Paul both looked to Della for her approval, they noticed the nervous and doubtful look on her face.

Perry reached across the table to hold onto her hand.

"What is it, Della," Perry asked quietly.

"Oh… I don't know… I'll have to think about it," she finally replied avoiding eye contact with both Perry and Paul as tears formed in her eyes.

"That's okay, Della," Perry consoled her right away. "You can take all of the time that you want. It was just a suggestion – it was probably not very wise for me to even propose that right now..."

"It's fine, Perry. I just didn't expect that right now. There's still a few loose ends to tie up with Arthur Gordon Industries and his charities… I don't expect to return to work there, but I just need some time to figure things out," she stated.

After lunch, Paul drove them all back to his office. During the ride, Della had time to think about where she stood with Perry and their relationship.

" _I wonder what we'll do now_ ," she thought to herself. " _He was so standoffish when I tried hinting that I was glad that we were on the cusp of reconciling… I don't know what he's thinking_..."

Once they returned to Paul's office, Paul excused himself right away.

"I have a meeting with one of your witnesses, so if you two don't mind, I'll be on my way..."

"What witness," Perry inquired.

"The department store salesclerk of course," Paul replied with a wink as he walked out.

After Paul's departure, Perry and Della began sorting their case files and organizing them in archive boxes. They were taking care of their own paperwork when Perry noticed that Della was suddenly standing still at the table quietly sobbing. He rushed across the room to her side right away.

"Della? What is it? What's wrong?"

She turned to him right away and began sobbing louder while clinging to his chest.

Perry wrapped an arm around her and held her head to his chest with his other hand.

"I'll finish putting this stuff away, Della," he said softly consoling her. "This has been a long, emotional day for you. I'm going to get you back to your hotel room right now. I think you could probably use a nice hot bath and a nap."

 **TBC**

Thanks for reading and reviewing. This story will conclude in the next chapter. I appreciate your patience in waiting for each chapter to be posted.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

 **Los Angeles, CA Della's Hotel Suite 2pm Monday, 7 October 1985**

Perry and Della arrived back at the hotel by taxi. Perry walked Della into her hotel suite and immediately walked across the room to close the window curtains.

"You need to relax, young lady. The less daylight in her right now, the better..."

Della sat down on a couch in the living room area and kicked off her high heels right away.

"I'm sorry about my breakdown in Paul's office Perry. I don't know what came over me," she sighed.

"What came over you was finally realizing the enormity of the situation you were in," Perry quickly consoled her with a hand on her shoulder.

He then walked over to the bar area and poured her a glass of ice water.

"Here. Drink some water. You're probably even dehydrated right now," he added as he handed her the glass of water.

Della immediately drank half of the glass of water.

"I'll have to admit that I really haven't been sleeping very well these past few nights. Or maybe the champagne celebration at lunch hit me the wrong way," she added.

"Either way, you need to relax for a while. Do you want me to run the warm bath water for you?"

"No… I can do that, thanks. I think your suggestions for a hot bath and a short nap will refresh me..."

Perry walked over to the couch and gave her his hand to help her up off of the couch.

"Come on. The sooner that you can unwind, the better."

Della stood and he took her in his arms for a brief embrace. After gently kissing her on her forehead, he released the embrace.

"I'll be back later to take you out for a nice dinner. Go and take your hot bath," he instructed as he turned to leave the suite.

Before he could get to the door, Della quickly followed after him.

"Perry," she called after him. "Wait a second..."

He turned to face her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him lightly on the lips.

"Thank you… I don't even know if I told you that earlier," she finally said as she began to withdraw her arms from around his neck.

A speechless Perry slowly reached for her hands on his shoulders and backed away from her as she released her embrace.

"There was no need to thank me, but that, my dear, was the only thanks I needed. I'll see you later," he added with a wink and a squeeze of her hands as he turned and walked out the door.

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When Perry got back to Paul Drake's office, Paul was there at his desk sorting through paperwork.

"Hi, Perry," Paul said as he looked up and around Perry entering his office. "Where's Della?"

"I just brought her back to her hotel room. I think she needs a little time alone..."

"Are you kidding me? You shouldn't leave her side right now. She needs someone to be with her after what she's been through..."

"I know that. But she had a minor breakdown here in the office after you left. It's been a very emotional day for her. I think the whole situation finally sunk in with her. I took her back to the hotel so she can take a hot bath and a nap. I'll go back when I finish with our files here and then take her to dinner. Are you interested in coming along?"

Paul thought about Perry's offer for a moment before replying.

"I think I'll pass on that tonight. I made some dinner plans of my own already. Besides, I really think that you and Della need to be alone together – to work out whatever has been going on with the two of you. It's not my business, and I don't know what happened between you two, but I think you've been apart way too long..."

Perry lifted an archive box off of the floor and placed it on a table before replying to Paul.

"You're right, Paul – it's _not_ your business. When the time is right, Della and I will work out our differences… So what are _your_ plans for dinner? May I make a guess that there's a certain young lady involved that sells women's clothing in a department store?"

Paul took a quick glance at his watch before answering.

"Your guess is correct, sir," Paul replied. "And before I escort this young lady to dinner, I need to get back to my apartment and get cleaned up. I still have dust and dirt from the town of Acton all over me… So if you'll be okay here finishing up with your files, I'm heading out. Be sure to turn the lights off and lock up before you go..."

"I'll be sure your office is secure before I leave. Do you mind if we leave these files here for a while?"

As Paul was walking out, he stopped to give Perry a pat on the back.

"My office is yours for as long as you need it… Just take good care of our girl, Perry. We couldn't have accomplished a good defense for her without her efforts. Her happiness means the world to me..."

Perry pulled Paul into a brief embrace.

"Her happiness means the world to me, too, Paul. I'll take care of her. Good night – and uh, good work, Paul!"

Paul silently replied by giving Perry a nice grin while nodding his head and walking out.

Perry remained in the office putting away the case files. After about an hour he opened a phone book to look up a phone number and made a phone call.

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 **Los Angeles, CA Office of Doctor Connie McRae 3:30pm Monday, 7 October 1985**

"Doctor McRae? I'm very glad that you could see me on such short notice. I'm Perry Mason," he said extending his hand to her as he entered Doctor McRae's office.

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Mason," Doctor McRae stated while extending her hand to shake his hand. "Please come in and make yourself comfortable. Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks, Doctor McRae. I don't want to take up a lot of your time since I really didn't have a proper appointment with you. And I certainly intend to pay you generously for your time..."

"Don't worry about any payment, Mister Mason – I can give you _one_ complimentary visit," she said smiling. "I'll admit that I was a little surprised by your phone call, but I know how important it must be for you with Della's acquittal and all. It's been all over the news this afternoon. I'm so happy that it worked out for her."

Perry waited for Doctor McRae to get seated at her desk before he sat down in a chair in front of her desk.

"I think we both knew all along that Della was not involved with the murder of Arthur Gordon," Perry said confidently.

"I couldn't believe it when I read the newspaper about her arrest. I felt that it was a setup situation from the start… So what brings you in here today, Mister Mason," Doctor McRae asked.

"I don't know where to start, but I'll try to make this brief. Obviously you know that I'm the cause of Della's _uneasiness_ and stress these past two years. I'm not here to talk about that, though, because I know that you won't share any information that Della may have discussed with you, and I would never ask you to. What I want you to know is that I'm going to try my hardest to make this up to her. Being with her again means everything to me and I hope that some day she'll forgive me for my mistakes. I want her back so badly. Anyway, today she had a minor breakdown while we were putting away all of our files on her case. What I need from you is advice on how to handle this..."

Doctor McRae shifted back in her chair thinking about what to say to Perry. She knew that she couldn't tell him that Della had already called her less than an hour before she got Perry's call. Della had called from her hotel room about her emotional collapse. The advice Della sought from her was how to reunite with Perry when he's ignoring her flirtatious hints. Della also revealed that Perry wants to open the office again and Della was undecided about working with him again. She is mostly undecided because she doesn't know if that's an offer to just run the office again, or have a loving relationship together again. Doctor McRae simply advised Della to just talk to him – hear what his plans will be and then make a decision.

Doctor McRae was looking into Perry's weary, big, blue eyes while he was speaking and she clearly understood how Della could also be so mesmerized by them. She saw not only his despair but also his sincerity in his feelings for Della.

"Tell me what happened today," Doctor McRae finally said.

Perry looked up towards the ceiling to collect his thoughts before replying.

"Well, after the charges were dismissed in court, she was obviously very elated – relieved that the truth had come out. She assured me that she was fine. We had a nice lunch with Paul Drake – uh that's Paul Drake _Junior_ – and she seemed fine until I mentioned that I wouldn't be opposed to opening our law office again."

"Is that what caused her breakdown?"

"I'm not sure, but it may have been the start. She suddenly went very quiet and didn't want to make a commitment to that while we were having lunch, so I just dropped the subject. Then later on while we were packing away the case files in Paul's office, she just started sobbing. The only thing I could think of doing for her was to get her out of there and take her back to her hotel so she could relax. It's there that she told me that she hadn't been sleeping. As a matter of fact, hopefully she's still there taking a nap after a nice warm bath. That's usually been a good way for her to unwind. I hope that I did the right thing in leaving her alone..."

"If that's the way she normally handles stress, I think you did the right thing…"

"I was going to suggest that perhaps she should talk to you, but I didn't tell her that. She told me about your visit with her while she was in jail – she said that you always have a way of giving the advice that makes her feel better. Right now she's in such an emotionally fragile state, I'm not sure what to do. Should you just call her, but not let her know that I spoke with you?"

"I know her well enough to know that if she's at wits end, she'll get a hold of me," Doctor McRae stated – still trying to conceal the fact that she _had_ already talked with Della.

"I really want to do all that I can to help her. It's taken me too long to realize that leaving her here while I went away to San Francisco was my first big mistake," Perry said while rubbing his forehead.

"What do _you_ want to do to help her, Mister Mason?"

"I want to take her away from LA if you think that's a good idea..."

Immediately after saying that, Perry saw the concerned look on Doctor McRae's face, so he quickly clarified his statement.

"I, uh, don't mean that I'll take her away from here _forever_ , just temporarily," he quickly added. "I was thinking of taking her out of town somewhere so we can be alone for a while..."

With the benefit of knowing that Della wanted to find a way to be with Perry to have a good talk now that the court hearing was over, Doctor McRae told Perry that she liked his idea.

"I think it would do her a lot of good to be away for a while. But what happens when you return?"

"Well, that was another reason that I wanted to see you in person… Do you think we'd benefit from couples therapy with you after we've had a chance to be away together for a while?"

"It can't hurt, Mister Mason. Why don't you just stay in touch when you get back? Either way, I'd like to hear back from you or Della..."

Perry took out his pocket watch and looked at the time before standing up to get ready to leave.

"Well, I've probably taken too much of your time. I don't want Della to know that I was here so I hope you'll keep this visit confidential."

"Of course your visit is confidential, Mister Mason," Doctor McRae stated while rising out of her chair.

"Thank you very much Doctor McRae. I will get back in touch with you soon. I appreciate your advice," he finished while shaking her hand.

"I really didn't add much to what you're already thinking to help Della. I wish you and Della the best, Mister Mason. Please _do_ let me know how it goes..."

"I will," Perry concluded as he began walking out of the office.

Doctor McRae followed Perry to her office door and after she saw him leave the outer office, she returned to her beverage cabinet in her office. She opened the cabinet and found a bottle of champagne, clutching it to her chest while thinking to herself.

" _I'll need to save this and get it chilled for when they return. I have a feeling that if they return, it will only be to tell me that I'm no longer needed and we'll all celebrate_ ," she smiled.

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When Perry got back to the hotel, he immediately stopped to speak with the hotel concierge at the front desk. He told the concierge what he needed and when, then left to go to his room. It was nearly five-thirty by the time he had taken a shower and gotten dressed for dinner. Before he left his room to pick up Della at her room for dinner, he packed up all of his things and left his bags by his door.

Perry found a very calm Della in her suite reading the newspaper when he arrived to take her to dinner.

"You look relaxed. How do you feel," he asked.

"I feel great. You really know how to take care of me," she said beaming with her head tilted to the side. "I had a nice nap – it was just what I needed."

" _There's that flirting look again_ ," Perry said to himself while laying his overcoat over a chair.

"You've been through a lot, so I'm glad that it helped," he added out loud.

"The evening paper already has a few stories about my court hearing," Della told him as he walked in and sat next to her on the couch.

Showing him the headlines as Perry sat next to her, Della continued talking about the news stories.

"Paula Gordon wasn't very friendly with the press when they tried to get a statement from her as she was leaving the courthouse. Normally she would have made Ken Braddock deal with the reporters, but now she's on her own. In his story, the reporter said that in a family newspaper, he couldn't repeat the words that she'd used to tell him off. Sounds just like her..."

Perry was looking over the headlines for the stories when Della handed him the whole paper.

"She's probably going to have to find a new attorney soon – and they'll be lined up to help her knowing that Arthur Gordon actually left her some assets in his will… They'll probably charge her a pretty penny to take care of her future financial and legal woes. I'm fairly certain that the IRS will get involved since she is partially responsible for the mess that the bogus Solar Research Foundation is in..."

"Well _you_ certainly handled the members of the press very well," Della stated as she pointed to a story where he was quoted. "You were right to the point", she added as she read his quote out loud to him.

" _I've stated all along that Della Street was not responsible for Mister Gordon's death. Justice was served and the truth finally came out. Right now, Miss Street needs her privacy and when the time is right, she'll be available for comments_."

"I hope that when that time comes to comment publicly, that you'll still be doing the talking for me. The press just loves you," she added with a wide smile.

"Well I don't know about that, but what I _do_ know is that you're probably hungry. I had the hotel concierge make dinner reservations for us at a nice steak house. He assured me that he could get us a table with a lot of privacy. So if you're ready to go, let's get out of here."

Perry helped Della up off of the couch. She grabbed her purse and a light-weight overcoat that Perry helped her to put on. After putting on her gloves, they walked out the door.

"Steak, hmmm? I'm _starving_ – I'll probably manage to eat a _whole_ filet mignon tonight," Della declared as they walked out the door.

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After leaving their overcoats at the restaurant coat check counter, Perry and Della were seated in a secluded area away from other patrons.

"It's too bad that Paul couldn't join us tonight," Della said while looking around the restaurant. "I feel bad that I ruined his lunch celebration..."

"You didn't ruin anything at lunch. If anyone put a damper on the lunch celebration, it was _me_ when I talked about opening the law office again," Perry said while reaching for Della's hand.

"Well you'll be pleased to know that I actually like your idea about opening the office again," Della smiled at him returning a gentle squeeze of his hand.

"If you're sure about that, we don't have to rush into anything."

"I'm sure about it. That was one thing that I wanted to discuss with both you and Paul tonight...What was _he_ doing tonight?"

"He had a dinner date with the sales clerk," Perry said shaking his head. "How many times did his father end up dating one of our subpoenaed witnesses when the case was over?"

"Several times," Della replied smiling as their waiter arrived at their table to take their order.

They were enjoying a bottle of red wine while waiting for their entrees when Della made another announcement.

"As long as we'll be opening the law office again, the first thing that you can help me with is turning my inheritance from Mister Gordon into something useful. I don't want anything for myself from his will. I want to either donate the entire amount to his various charities and maybe one or two of my own – or just set up a charitable legacy in his name."

"You probably don't need me to do that for you. Have you forgotten how you used to prepare all of the paperwork associated with situations like that," he asked her with a wink.

"Let's just say that I was a little rusty working on my own defense this past week or so. I'll probably need a lot of your advice if we're going to go back into business again..."

"We'll make this work. We can ease our way into it again. I hope that I can rely on your intuition with which cases we'll take. I don't think that you've lost your touch with that!"

They were nearly finished with their dinner entrees when they were besieged by a group of news reporters at their table. They looked up in disbelief as the reporters surrounded their table.

"Miss Street, will you be the new president of Arthur Gordon Industries," the first reporter shouted while putting a microphone in her face.

Another reporter muscled his way in closer to her to ask, "Will you be testifying when Ken Braddock is on trial for murder?"

Their questions were not entirely aimed at Della.

"Mister Mason, will you try to get your job back on the Appellate Court?"

As Perry stood up to shield Della from the reporters, the restaurant manager arrived at their table to chase the reporters away.

"This is private property and you're making a disturbance in my restaurant. Leave now or I'll call the Police," the manager demanded.

The group of reporters began backing away, but continued shouting out their questions.

"Are you angry with Arthur Gordon's family for involving you in all of their schemes?"

"What will you do with all of the money that you got from Arthur Gordon's will?"

"Will you give me an exclusive interview outside of the restaurant?"

While the group was being escorted out of the restaurant, Perry looked around and made eye contact with a restaurant worker who quickly ducked behind a wall near the kitchen entrance.

"I believe that one of your employees might have tipped off the press to our presence here tonight. He just ducked back into the kitchen area," Perry advised the manager.

The manager looked over in the direction that Perry was pointing.

"I'm really sorry, Mister Mason. This should _not_ have happened. My instructions from the hotel concierge were _very_ clear – to give you a private dining experience. There will be no charge for your meals tonight..."

"It wasn't your fault. I'll pay for our dinners, but we're going to leave. What I would like you to do in exchange is to have the valet bring my car around to a side door," Perry requested as he handed the manager his valet token and coat check receipt. "We'll also need our belongings from the coat check."

Although the manager tried to box up the rest of their dinners, Perry declined the offer. The manager escorted them to a side door when their vehicle arrived and insisted that Perry take a boxed special dessert with them. Perry and Della successfully slipped out of the restaurant while the reporters anxiously paced around at the front door.

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

Perry unlocked the door to Della's suite and turned on a light before he let Della walk in ahead of him. Della was carrying the box of dessert and was about to place it on a table in the living room area when she noticed a bottle of liquor and two short-stemmed tulip glasses on the table.

"What's this," she asked Perry after he helped remove her overcoat.

Perry took her overcoat along with his own and draped them over a nearby chair.

"I thought it would be nice for us to have a nightcap, so I asked the hotel concierge to send up some cognac..."

"That's a nice way to unwind after a rather hectic day," Della wearily smiled.

Perry guided her over to the couch and got her seated before he opened the bottle to pour their drinks.

"Maybe it will help you forget about the news reporters that interrupted our dinner. I'm sorry about that. You didn't need the stress of their rude questions..."

"It wasn't your fault, Perry. You handled the situation very well – as usual..."

While standing in front of her, Perry tilted his glass towards hers to make a toast.

"Here's to your acquittal and the end of a long day," Perry stated as he tapped his glass with hers.

"Thank you. And thanks for taking such good care of me," Della said before sipping her drink.

After sipping his drink and placing his glass down on the table, Perry was about to sit down in a nearby chair when Della stopped him.

"Why don't you sit here with me, Perry. I promise that I won't bite," she playfully added while patting the seat cushion next to her with her hand.

Grinning and taking a seat next to her, Perry remarked, "I was hoping that maybe you _would_ bite..."

"Maybe I _will_ ," she shot back with a raised brow. "But before I do that, perhaps we could have a long overdue talk..."

"That's a good idea… It should be ladies first, but may _I_ start the conversation?"

Della agreed with him right away and took another sip of her cognac, nervously waiting to hear what he would say.

"Let me start by apologizing again for my stupidity. I know that I hurt you, Della and I'm sorry. I hurt _us_! I made a very big mistake and I'll beg you for the rest of my life to take me back. I'll do anything you want to end this… this... _senseless separation_ ," he said softly and sincerely.

"And I'll do anything for you to work this out, Perry. I was truly amazed that you resigned from the Appellate Court just to come back and defend me. I never expected anything like that. That was a huge sacrifice..."

"It was the right thing to do. I should have never left for San Francisco in the first place. I had an obligation here with you – and a promise to Paul Senior that I would always take care of Junior. I feel like I failed all of you by running away. I'd always thought that you'd come with me. I should never have expected you to relocate to San Francisco. Obviously my stubbornness and enormous legal ego got the best of me..."

Placing her hand on top of his, Della was consoling.

"Don't say that. You earned every bit of that opportunity, Perry. You're one of the best legal minds in the country and you deserved to be a judge..."

"I don't know about that," he replied and decided to change the subject. "Maybe we should just start all over again," Perry proposed.

"Start over," Della asked rather disappointed at his suggestion. "I don't want to start over, Perry. That would be like forgetting everything we've ever done together or shared with each other over the years. Those moments are still special to me."

"As usual, you're right," Perry backed down sighing.

They were both silent for about a minute sipping their cognac before Della continued.

"What happened to us, Perry?"

Perry looked down before replying.

"I don't know what happened exactly, but I take one hundred percent of the blame for our separation..."

"You can't take _all_ of the blame," she said while moving closer to him. "After all, it takes two to tango… I'm probably just as much to blame as you are so let's just figure out how to fix this," she added with a flirtatious glance into his eyes.

Dozens of things began running through Perry's mind just then. The advice from John Wilburn stuck in his mind the most. He clearly recalled the gist of that conversation – " _Take advantage of every opportunity she gives you to reunite. Act on those hints. Take her in your arms and show her just how much you love her and care for her_..."

Without further hesitation, Perry turned to her, put an arm around her to pull her closer, and gently kissed her on the lips. Della returned his kiss – at first with a few soft kisses, then another more eager kiss with her hands on his cheeks. They broke apart momentarily to catch their breath before enjoying a few more tender kisses.

Nearly breathless, Della was the first to speak.

"Well that's a nice way to start fixing this..."

"As usual, you're right about that, too, Miss Street. So do we just move on and find a way to forget about my foolish behavior?"

"We just move forward, Perry," Della said as she slid her arms around his neck and drew him towards her for another passionate kiss until she began giggling.

"What's so funny," Perry asked as he slightly leaned away from her.

"Nothing's _funny_ as in laughter funny. Kissing you with a beard is just _strange_ funny. Your beard tickles my cheeks that's all. It's a weird feeling," she replied while softly stroking his beard with her fingers.

"I'll shave it off right now," Perry offered right away.

"Oh no you _won't_ ," Della replied with a scornful smile. "I like your beard even though it tickles a little. You're very handsome with a beard – it makes you look mature and dignified. Even more intelligent or scholarly – if that's possible. Please don't shave it off..."

"Like I said before, I'll do anything for you – anything you want..."

Della snuggled further into his arms resting her head on his shoulder and made a request.

"Will you stay with me tonight and just hold me," she quietly asked.

"I'll hold you _forever_ ," Perry anxiously replied.

Lifting her head slightly away from him, Della looked into his big blue eyes with her raised eyebrow.

"Why don't we just start with _tonight_ and see how that goes," Della said with a smirk before moving to get up off of the couch.

Perry got up off the couch right away when she put her hand out to take his hand. They began walking towards the bedroom when Della suddenly stopped.

"Hold on a minute," she said. "Maybe you should go to your room first and bring your bags to my room..."

Still holding her hand, Perry led her to a closet just inside the door to the suite. He opened it up and showed her that his bags were already in her suite.

"I might have known, Mister Mason. It's about time that you acted on my hints! Can we go kiss and make up now?"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

They both got ready for bed and laid down while adjusting the bed pillows for comfort. It wasn't very long before the lights were turned off and they were cuddled together under the sheets.

"How am I doing so far," Perry quietly asked.

"You're doing just fine, Mister Mason. Just fine," Della sighed.

"I love you, Della. I always have and always will..."

Della found his lips and gave him a soft kiss.

"I love you, too, Perry. Always have and always will..."

"It just feels so good to hold you again – to kiss you again..."

"I couldn't ask for a better ending to the day," Della sighed.

Perry held her snuggly and they were both silent for quite a while just enjoying being close with each other once again. Della's thoughts about the situation were running wild.

" _Now is as good a time as any – just tell him Della_ ," she said to herself. " _You want him back so badly and he certainly deserves another chance,_ _especially_ _after_ _sacrificing his position on the appellate court_ ," she silently added.

Della's voice then softly broke the silence.

"I forgive you, Perry..."

There was no reaction at all from Perry which left Della confused.

"I think that deserves at least a kiss," she quickly added.

Perry remained silent.

" _Maybe he didn't hear me_ ," Della thought to herself before repeating it.

"Did you hear me, Perry? I said that I forgive you..."

When there was again no reply, Della lifted her head from her pillow and looked at him as well as she could in the dimly-lit room. She soon discovered that he was sound asleep.

 **PMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXO**

Faint sunlight was streaming into the bedroom when Della finally stirred and opened her eyes. Perry was still holding her and softly caressing her back with his hands.

"Did you sleep well," he quietly asked her while kissing her cheek.

"Mmmm. I _did_ sleep well! Did you?"

"That was the best nights' sleep I've had in a long time – more exactly, over two years since I've slept so well…"

"I'll admit that you did very well holding me all night. You passed my test so well that I'm relaxed enough to stay here all day," she replied while adjusting her pillow to snuggle closer to him.

"Oh no you won't," Perry advised. "We have to get out of bed, Della..."

"Why," she asked pouting with her eyes closed again.

"Because we have a lot of things to do today..."

"Such as?"

"First, I need to feed you because I've been listening to your stomach growl for over an hour already. Would you like to go out for breakfast or order from room service, Ma'am?"

"Well, after last night's dinner interruption by nosy reporters, maybe it would be safer to stay here and order room service."

"Okay. Is there something in particular that you're hungry for?"

"Surprise me," she replied, then quickly asked, "What's after breakfast?"

"I thought that we'd go and look at a house..."

"Oh? Where is this house?"

"In Bel Air. The couple renting our place in the Hamptons has offered to make a trade – their place in Bel Air for our place in the Hamptons. It might cost me a little extra because the place in Bel Air is larger, but I thought we'd take a look at it. He ran his financial planning business out of the house so it has a separate entrance that we could turn into our law office temporarily. But only with your approval..."

Yawning, Della stretched her arms over her head and then snuggled back into him before replying.

"That sounds like a good idea… What will we do for the rest of the day?"

"I thought that I'd take you out of town for a while – just the two of us..."

"I hope that doesn't involve a flight out of town on an aircraft of any kind. I'm still sort of nervous about flying since that rough landing incident in Dallas…"

"I assure you, Miss Street, that our trip out of town will not involve _flying_ anywhere."

"Are you going to tell me what you have in mind or will that be a surprise, too?"

"I'm going to take you for a short two-hour drive. We'll find some fresh air with spectacular mountain views at our destination..."

"And where might that be?"

"How about the cabin in Fawnskin," he asked hoping that she'd agree.

"Oh! I see! You want to do some fishing on Big Bear Lake, don't you?"

Perry was grinning. "I wasn't really thinking about fishing, but now that you mention it..."

"Hmmm," she said with a raised brow. "We'll just see about _that_!"

 **DSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXOPMXODSXO**

The cabin near Fawnskin was packed with groceries and everything else that they needed to stay for at least a week. Perry and Della enjoyed a nice dinner that was prepared by Perry, and then retired to the living room where Perry lit a fire in the fireplace. Wearing warm robes over their pajamas, they were sitting on a couch cuddled together reading and enjoying glasses of red wine. While Della was engrossed in a mystery novel – Perry was reading bits and pieces from a stack of law journals.

Della put her book aside and stretched.

"Why are you reading those old law journals?"

"They're not so old. I thought that if we're going back into the law business again, I better brush up on the latest case law and trends. I felt sort of rusty back there during your hearing."

"The acquittal certainly showed that you're not as rusty as you think, Counselor..."

"I'm just glad that we're back together," Perry grinned as he lowered the paper he was reading. "It was _murder_ getting you back," he quipped.

Della gave him a look and playful punch on his arm.

"You know, Mister Mason, I was trying to tell you something very important last night but you had already fallen asleep..."

"Oh? What did I miss?"

"I'll tell you later – if you can manage to stay awake this time..."

"I'm wide awake now. Tell me now," he pleaded.

"Like I said – I'll tell you _later_ ," she stated as she got up off of the couch.

"I think that I'll go and get ready for bed," she said glancing back at him.

"That's a good idea. You're probably really tired from such a long day. I'll be in shortly," he added as his attention went right back to the article that he was reading.

"I didn't say that I was going to bed because I'm _tired_ , Mister Mason," she added still looking at him enticingly from near the bedroom door.

That statement got Perry's full attention right away and he looked up to catch a rather alluring look on her face before she disappeared into the darkened bedroom.

Perry quickly tossed the law journal aside and sprung up from the couch, turning out a lamp before stumbling after her into the bedroom.

Della met him just inside the bedroom door – tossing her arms around him and pressing her lips onto his for a very seductive kiss.

"What took you so long," she quietly asked when their lips parted.

"I, uh, twisted my knee rushing in here," Perry jokingly advised.

"Poor baby," she consoled him with a few more kisses. "I think that I can make your knee feel better..."

Perry shed his robe and immediately took that hint by lifting her off of the floor. He slowly began walking her over to the bed where they gently collapsed on top of it. He laid her on her back and quickly adjusted a pillow under her head.

"What exactly did you have in mind, Miss Street," he asked while lowering her robe and exposing her bare shoulders to begin lightly kissing her there.

"Well, there might be something more involved than just _cuddling_ together all night," she said with a sharp inhale as he began kissing her beneath her ear.

"I think that I'm feeling better already," Perry breathlessly added.

"You'll feel even better when I tell you what I wanted to let you know last night before you drifted off to sleep so soon..."

"Okay. What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"I wanted to say that we belong together and that I need you back. I want to forgive you, Perry..."

That got Perry's undivided attention right away and he leaned up on his elbow to reply.

"Are you serious, Della?"

"I'm very serious. I want to end this silly separation here and now..."

"You've just made me the happiest man in the world! I love you so much, Della! I'll never do anything to hurt you or keep us apart ever again," he declared.

Della pulled him close for sharing a very heartfelt kiss which lasted a long time as they rolled back and forth with each other on the bed.

They only stopped for a moment to catch their breath when Della found an opportunity to ask a question.

"So how are you feeling now, Mister Mason? Is your sore knee still bothering you?"

Perry moaned a soft reply while covering her with kisses as his hands wandered aimlessly along the curves of her body. "What sore knee? I'm feeling just great!"

"I can tell," Della quietly sighed as her hands roamed along his upper thighs.

"Can we just kiss and _really_ make up now," Perry seductively suggested.

"I thought you'd never ask," Della giggled before Perry rolled her onto her back and covered her lips again with his.

 **The End**

Thank you for staying with the story. My apologies for taking so long to get it posted in its entirety. Medical issues have a way of coming up very unexpectedly! Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed this tale. All comments and reviews are appreciated. I have other stories that I'm already working on that I hope will add favorable missing moments of Perry and Della from some of the Perry Mason television movies.


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